A scarlet heart
by Juliette Taylor
Summary: It's been three years since Kaleb and Lily, Damon and Elena's daughter, have been separated. While Kaleb is trying to adjust to his new life and Lily is trying to get over Kaleb, a new twist of event force Kaleb into fighting his way back to Lily. Will they get the happy ending they deserve? Or is someone new already in their lives? Please read the first part 'The Shades of Love'.
1. Preface

**Preface**

Kaleb's P.O.V

It has been 3 years since I had been dead. Perhaps the most difficult time of my – life? Well, I cannot exactly call this a life. One, I am dead, two, this is not exactly how I wanted to ' _live_ ', if that was what I was doing. I had imagined that I would move on, find peace, or something similar. But that had not been the case at all. Of course, I saw other _ghosts_ finding peace, and I wanted to do that too but I could not. I could not do it because then I would not be able to ever see Lily again and I was not sure if I was ready for it just yet.

It has been so incredible to watch her grow in this beautiful young woman. She was out of high school now and today she was moving out, starting a new chapter in her life, going to the college – Whitmore College. Olivia was going to be there with her, for which I was glad and of course, I was going there as well. It was not like this was an unhealthy behaviour for me, after all what can it do to me? I am already dead. As for Lily, she does not even know I am here, she has questioned herself if I have found peace, she even started believing that, and I like to keep it that way.

I watched, my hands crossed in front of my chest, as she loaded the last of her boxes in her car. She looked absolutely heartbreakingly gorgeous in her burgundy v neck, without sleeves top, mini shorts and brown ankle boots. She had changed her hairstyle this summer as well. She had kept it long, with front bangs and loose curls. It made her vivid blue eyes stand out. She is going to break so many hearts, it made me chuckle.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come?" Damon asked Lily who was ready to get in her car. Olivia was waiting in her car, parked in front of Lily's car. "Dad, I will be fine, you have to visit Stefan today anyways, and mom would be coming home from her big surgery anytime now so you need to be here as well" Lily shrugged. "We will visit you this weekend" Damon cupped her cheeks and kissed her forehead. "I will miss you and mom" Lily gave him a small smile, it made me smile as well. "We will miss you too, take care of yourself" He let go of Lily and nodded. "I will dad, see you soon" Lily spoke as she opened the door of her car. "I love you" she said in a low voice, closing the door of her car behind herself.

That was my cue, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath to concentrate. The wind hustled around me and when I opened my eyes I was in the backseat of Lily's car. I used to walk around Mystic Falls to get from one place to another before, but now I have learned to transport myself to places – or take a car ride sometimes.

Lily started the engine of her car and waved at Damon who waved back before she hit the road behind Olivia's car. Once her home was out of view she relaxed in her seat. "Finally!" Lily muttered. Was she happy to be out of her home? "No more sad memories" she sighed and shook her head. I was tongue tied, she was relieved to get out of her home because of all the sad memories? "I could not stand that place anymore" she shook her head slowly. Why are you so upset Lily? I thought you were doing much better now. It broke my heart to see her like this.

"Stop thinking about it Lily, New place, New start" she told herself. "I don't ever have to go back there" it was as if she was comforting herself. "Why don't you want to go back there?" I asked, as if she could hear me. Lily cleared her throat and put on some music as she sped down the road behind Olivia. They were in separate cars because of all the luggage they had with themselves but I wish Olivia was here to hear all of this and knock some sense into Lily. She cannot _not_ go back home, it was her _home_.

I felt a lump forming at the back of my throat when I realized all of this was because of me. She was running away from this place because I could not protect her from myself. I have spent so many days, even months blaming myself for putting Lily through all this but in the last 6 months it seemed she was over my death, or at least accepted it but that was not true. "Lily, I wish I could take your pain away" I looked down at my hands, but it was too late. I just hope she realizes how wrong she is to run away from this place – her home.

I saw a smile growing on Lily's face in the rear-view mirror as she approached the border of Mystic Falls. She pressed her pedal down as she sped towards the exit from this town and then my surroundings changed.

I was no longer in Lily's car, I was standing a few feet away from the border of Mystic Falls. "What?" I looked around and saw Lily's car speeding off behind Olivia's car. This has never happened before. My brows creased together and I tried to concentrate to get back in Lily's car but I could not, as if I was stuck. "C'mon" I encouraged myself and tried to get in Olivia's car but it was of no use. "What is happening?" I looked around and then saw Lily's car fading away in distance.

"Maybe I will just have to walk" I shrugged and started walking towards the exit from Mystic Falls but as soon as I reached the boarder of Mystic falls, I felt as though some invisible wall was not letting me pass through. I tried to push past it, even run past it but in vain.

The weirdest part about it was that even though I could not see it, I could _feel_ it. I touched it again and ran my hand across it, trying to find a spot through which I could pass, but it seemed like an endless wall. "C'mon!" I threw my hands in the air. I cannot feel _anything_ , I can get past _everything_ but one thing I do not want to feel – I can feel, one thing I want to get past – I cannot.

What is this?

I heard a car honk around the corner and I tried to concentrate to get in and I did, that was pretty easy, I smiled to myself. I was sitting next to a baby who was bundled up in a car seat, her mom and dad in the front seats, silently. The baby looked at me with its baby blue eyes and giggled, the mom turned around and looked at the baby with loving eyes and a smile. Could the baby see me? I smiled and the baby giggled again. "She finally seems happy" the dad said, "She is a happy baby" the mom cooed. I tried to touch her rosy red cheek with my finger but I could not feel the baby.

Suddenly the scene around me changed – _again_. I was no longer looking at the baby but standing on the road, where I was standing previously, looking at the road. "What the hell?" I looked around again. Why can I not get out of Mystic Falls?

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **I am finally back. This is the second part of my story 'Shades of Love', if you have not read it please do, the story will make sense once you read it, and I swear you will enjoy. Please leave a review and let me know how you like the story. Your reviews would mean the world to me and I swear it would not take more than a minute. Thank you so much, I will be waiting to hear from you. Hit the Follow and Favourite button if you liked the story. Stay tuned, Thanks!**

 _ **-JT**_


	2. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

I walked back to the town square unable to understand why I could not cross the border of this town. It has never happened before, though I could not be sure for how long this has been going on, after all it has been months since I left this town, the last time I did it was when I had decided to take some time off to encourage myself to find peace. That did not work then and it would not work now. Being stuck in this town made me irritated and worried about Lily. I wanted to make sure she adjusted in her new life. ' _How would you make sure of that?_ ' I snorted and shook my head. ' _I know I cannot do anything but at least I will be at peace knowing that she is okay_ ' I thought.

Initially I could not differentiate between ghosts and the living. I would often think that the living are looking at me and confuse them for the dead when actually they were just looking at something in the distance. But now, I can pretty much distinguish between the living and the dead. Mostly because I have seen most of dead here and I have their faces memorized. I have made a few alliances on this side and just one friend.

I was on my way to meet him, he had a large circle of informants and every time I had a question this guy always had the answer. Maybe today, and I really hope that today, he has an answer to this problem so that we can fix it and I can be on my way to Lily's college.

Gabriel, my friend, was sitting on one the benches on town square next to a living. Honestly, sometimes it creeped me out how he would be next to the living as though they were part of each other's world. Gabriel says "They can't see me and it is entertaining to watch them" which is kind of true. But the only living I find entertaining is Lily who is currently driving away from the town I am stuck in!

Gabriel was 6 ft tall, lean and had the most vivid grey eyes I had ever seen with a set of thick lashes. He was just 17 years old when he died near Mystic Falls and he had travelled here and stayed. He was a warlock and though he never talks about how he died, I guess it has something to do with him going out of control with his magic. His honey blonde hair reminded me of my biological mother. Though he always smiled, the lines on his face etched a story of a sad life, I wondered what happened with him? I had never seen a more sorrowful face.

"Kaleb?" his voice was puzzled, "I thought you were going with your girl" Gabriel got up and shoved his hands in the black overcoat he always wore with the buttons open, along with his white shirt and black jeans in which he was stuck for eternity. "Yeah, I could not go" I told him walking up to him. "Why not?" Gabriel's brows creased together, "I cannot get out of this place" I told him. "What?" Gabriel looked confused. "So, you don't know anything about that?" I asked him. "No" he shook his head and I felt my hope fading away. "Show me what happened, maybe I can figure out what is wrong" Gabriel shrugged, "Alright" I nodded.

Gabriel and I stood in front of the border of Mystic Falls where I showed him how I could not get out of the place. Gabriel commented "Strange" before trying himself. "It's like I am pushing against a wall" Gabriel pressed his hand against the invisible wall. "I know!" I replied, frustrated at the delay this was causing me. I swear when I find who did this I would – ' _Relax Kaleb_ ' I thought.

"I will try to find why this is happening" Gabriel turned towards me, but it did little to comfort me. "Don't worry, this is not going to be that difficult, meet me at the town square at night" Gabriel told me and I nodded before he disappeared into thin air. I sighed and looked at the exit of this town and then turned away.

What am I supposed to do now? Lily was gone, Gabriel is busy, I have nothing to do here. Except maybe I can visit my old home. Sophia had already left Mystic Falls. She had left the month after I died. She was heartbroken at my funeral, I still remember how she cried. After all, I was all she had. Her husband had died in a war when she was expecting their first child. She was devastated, I know it because I was keeping an eye on her back then. After her baby boy was born, he died after 2 months, suddenly and unexpectedly and that is what sent Sophia over the edge.

I saved her from killing herself, I promised her that things would get better and I will be there for her no matter what, a promise I broke. I told her the truth about who I was and how she could help me. Initially we posed as aunt and nephew when we moved to Ohio. Until one day when Klaus called me back to New Orleans and well, that is a whole other story.

I stood in front of the gates of my old house. A huge lock hung on the black iron gates and I remembered how it used to look when I first came to Mystic Falls, as I crossed the gates.

I still remember very clearly the why I bought this house. It reminded me of my childhood house. Both had the same grey bricks but the major difference was that while this was a more modern structure, my childhood house was a classic mansion of the 12th century with fountains, gardens and horse stables. I remember playing around with my younger brother – henry and my younger sister – Isabel, she had the same honey blonde hair as my mother – Cecily, perhaps the most beautiful woman of her age in our town, I was bestowed with her deep green eyes. My father – Adam was a wealthy man who provided us with every comfort in the world and loved his family dearly. He died in the civil war fighting for Stephen, King of England.

Klaus had found me days after my father went missing during the civil war and I took it upon myself to find him. When I saw Klaus on his hunting frenzy in the middle of the chaos, I believed that the power he had was everything! I could not only bring my father back but provide _everything_ my family would ever need. I was not scared when I approached him and that is what perhaps impressed Klaus who gave me a choice if I wanted to be turned or die. I chose the former, and my wish was granted.

My world came crashing down when I realized that for the sake of my family, for their safety since I could not control my hunger, I had to leave them behind. What was worse for my family was, after I faked my death, the news of my father's death crushed my family but I had to leave them behind – it was perhaps the most difficult decision of my life.

When our descendants came to Mystic Falls in the 19th Century, I had almost lost track of them and that is when I found Mystic Falls and my adventures with Sarah the witch in the bar, it still made me chuckle how she tried to drive me away and how most of my games were to show her that I was not afraid of her. I was not proud of the body count I had left behind in my games.

I went back to being a civil vampire after a decade of having fun until Klaus called for me. I owed my life to him, he taught me how to control myself and I was there to return the favour when he showed me this photograph of Lily. I remember that memory more clearly than anything in my life.

"I have a task for you" Klaus sat opposite to me on the long mahogany dining table where we were supposed to talk over dinner. "I would not kill anyone" I told him seriously, "It is quite the opposite mate" Klaus told me, "I am listening" I replied taking a bite of my pasta. "There is this girl, she is in danger and she does not even know it, I want you to keep an eye on her" he said seriously making me chuckle. "Since when does Niklaus Mikaelson care about _a girl_?" I joked, "She is not just a girl, she is family" Klaus measured his words, "Hope?" I was puzzled, Klaus shook his head, "I will show you the photograph" he continued, "Alright" I nodded.

Before I knew it, Klaus was standing right next to me his hand on my shoulder as he looked me in the eyes and this weird sense of compliance washed over me with each word he spoke. "You are not supposed to tell her who you are, why you are there. You are not supposed to fall in love with her and most importantly, you will protect her and her family with your life". "Klaus!" Caroline's voice broke me out of my trance, "You are sending him on a suicide mission like that!" she argued, "He is my most loyal solider" Klaus smirked before handing me a photograph.

I turned it over to see these gorgeous pair of vivid blue eyes staring back at me and as soon as a warm and fuzzy feeling emerged in my heart, it was crushed. All day, every day I would have Lily's photograph with me. It was the first thing I saw when I woke up and the last thing I saw before I slept. I was so eager to meet this mysterious, beautiful girl.

The day I reached Mystic Falls with Sophia, I knew what I had to do. I had to get close to Lillian Salvatore to protect her. That was the only aim of my existence. I believe it was not just the compulsion but somewhere deep down, I _wanted_ to protect his fragile human being who had no idea she was in trouble.

I remember how she walked into our first class together, I made sure that we were in as many classes together as we possibly could. She looked straight at me as she walked in, it felt as though she knew I was waiting for her and while the warm fuzzy feeling came back it was instantly crushed again and I had to look away.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **This is the second part of my story 'Shades of Love', if you have not read it please do, the story will make sense once you read it, and I swear you will enjoy. Any old 'Shades of Love' readers out here? Please leave a review all my readers and let me know how you like the story. Your reviews would mean the world to me and I swear it would not take more than a minute. Thank you so much, I will be waiting to hear from you. Hit the Follow and Favourite button if you liked the story. Stay tuned, Thanks!**

 _ **-JT**_


	3. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

I had spent so much time at my house that I almost lost track of time, I had to meet Gabriel in a few minutes. He would wait for me, after all what else did we do? We did not have to sleep or feed ourselves, we had no where to go. All we did was wait around – waiting for something to happen, something that would change our dull _life_ , and maybe this was it. This was the suspense we were waiting for, but I believe it isn't as big as it might seem and hopefully it gets sorted soon.

As I was rushing to the town square something caught my eye. It was a dark alley; a light was flickering and at the end of the alley I could make out a figure sitting on the ground but I could not see it clearly. Against my better judgement I walked towards the figure. A few feet from the figure there was a huge butcher's knife lying on the ground. I stopped to examine the knife but there was no blood on the knife, as a matter of fact there was no blood anywhere, at all.

I looked at the body and immediately jumped back. The head of the body was on the ground a few feet away, the cold black eyes staring back at me, the man must be in his 30s. The weird part about it was that was no blood on the clothes or the body, there was no blood on the decapitated head. "What the heck?" I whispered and took a few steps back, was he a ghost? But how can you kill a ghost? But if he was living, why was there no blood? This was not normal or even close to normal.

I ran out of the alley and towards the street, the fear had set in. I had believed that now in death I was safe, but this does not look safe. I thought that all I had to care about was Lily but that is perhaps what should be least of my worries right now. We are trapped in this place and then _that_ , whatever that is. I should tell Gabriel about it immediately and that is if he is still – no, he must. I need to see Gabriel to tell him to stay safe. A million negative thoughts were running in my mind but at least I was at peace that Lily was out of the harm's way, it was good that she did not wanted to come back here, especially now that things are getting weirder.

I saw Gabriel sitting on the same park bench where I saw him this morning. "You are late, and it looks like you have seen a ghost" Gabriel joked but I did not laugh, I _could_ not laugh. "I saw a dead ghost" I told him, "What?" Gabriel was puzzled, "I mean I think it was a ghost, there was no blood" I tried to explain what I saw, but I knew I was failing terribly. "Kaleb, we cannot be killed" Gabriel tried to reason with me, "I saw what I saw mate" I told him, "See, I cannot even touch you" Gabriel tried to touch my shoulder and though he could technically touch me, we did feel anything or could do anything like lifting each other's hand. "I can show you" I told him, "Fine" Gabriel agreed, at least he was open about new things. I rushed him to the alley where I saw the dead – ghost – person or whatever.

"This keeps getting interesting" Gabriel commented once he looked at the body. "Interesting?" I laughed nervously, "Do you know what I found?" Gabriel started, "I thought of it myself but I was not sure, so I asked around, it is a boundary spell" Gabriel said in a low voice. "You must have come across one of those in your so many years on earth?" He asked, I nodded. "This one is different" He told me, "It covers the whole Mystic Falls, I have not seen a boundary spell covering a whole _town_ , and other than that, it does not seem to be bounded by any force like a celestial event or even the sun for that matter" Gabriel pointed at the sky at the end, the sun had set long ago.

"Do you think this and _this_ " I pointed to the body at the end, "is done by the same person?" I asked, "Not _a_ person, a group of people, you would need _a lot_ of people to harness that energy" Gabriel told me and what came to my mind immediately was not something I wanted to remember – the Pagans. No, not those nasty bunch of people, anyone but them!

"Do you know someone who could help?" I asked him, "I think so" Gabriel told me after a pause. "Well?" I pressed, "I will take you to meet her" he nodded, "Now?" I asked hopefully, he sighed and replied, "Yeah, what else do we have to do?"

We threw a last glance at the body before we walked out the alley, it felt like someone was watching me but when I turned around, it was just the creepy body which sent shivers down my spine. I was scared because I did not have my vampire abilities, I would be fine if I could actually touch someone and kill them with my super strength but that seemed like a long shot.

Gabriel and I were walking in the woods when I asked him, "Where is she?" "I don't know exactly, I am just following the directions I found from someone" he replied as he shook his head. "Have you ever seen her?" I asked him, "Yeah, I have" he rolled his eyes, "Good, at least you know what she looks like" I was relieved. "Trust me on this, we will figure it out, after all we have an eternity for it" Gabriel joked, "Not if we get killed first" I replied and he shook his head, "We aren't getting killed and neither is your girlfriend if that is what is eating you" he said. "That is the last thing on my mind, she is on the safer side for once" I sighed, "Well, there she is" Gabriel interrupted my chain of thoughts as he pointed to a woman who was looking at the sky.

She turned around and I saw a face I think I have seen before. Her almond brown eyes, cocoa skin and long curly hair reminded me her name almost immediately – Sheila Bennett.

"This is – " Gabriel started to introduce her to me, "Sheila Bennett" I replied awestruck. I had heard about her, seen her photographs, the most powerful witch who even came back after finding peace. "Do I know you?" she asked me, "No, you don't" I shook my head. "Hello Gabriel" Sheila gave him a warm smile, "This is my friend Kaleb" Gabriel introduced us. "You found peace" I could not help but remark. "Yes, I did, I am at peace" she told me, "Then why are you here stuck with us?" I asked her, "What is peace for you Kaleb?" she questioned back. "I don't know, finally letting go and being happy" I shrugged.

"Yes, it is about letting go, but it is more about acceptance, I exist nowhere but I exist everywhere I am needed and right now you need me, but why?" she looked at me with a questioning look on my face. "You know that we are stuck" Gabriel started, "Yes, I heard something about that" she nodded, "On our way here, we saw a dead ghost" she gave Gabriel the same look he had given me when I said this to him.

"How do you kill someone who is already dead?" I asked her, "Shouldn't your concern be where the dead go after being killed?" Sheila asked me, "Do you know who is doing this?" I asked her, "Not a single person that is for sure" Sheila replied, "I told you" Gabriel said, proud of himself – in times like these he shows how young he really is and I hope it stays this way.

"I think I might know who" I was afraid to even admit it. Sheila raised her eyebrow in question, "Pagans" I whispered, "How do you know about Pagans?" she questioned, "I know they must exist here" I told her, "What were you before you died?" she questioned me sternly, "A vampire" I replied after a long pause, "Are you the one who killed them?" Gabriel questioned surprisingly and I looked at him blankly. "You are the one who killed them, aren't you? That is why you are so afraid" Gabriel questioned again and I gave him a single nod.

"You should have not associated with him" Sheila told Gabriel sternly and turned away. "Please I need your help" I begged, "I cannot help you Kaleb" she started walking away and I followed close by. "So, this is it then? It is the Pagans?" I pressed, "I can't be sure but they are here all hundreds of them after you, they are known to be vengeful and if this is them then no one can help you" she looked at me angrily. "You are the most powerful witch along with your granddaughter – I have met her" I told her and her face softened at the mention of Bonnie Bennett.

"How?" she asked me, "Have you not been keeping an eye on your granddaughter?" I asked her, "I only exist where I am needed" she replied, "I killed the Pagans for the girl I love, Lillian Salvatore, Elena Gilbert's daughter – whose best friend is your great granddaughter" I told her. "I still cannot help you" the softened face changed to a stern face. "I just want to make sure that this stays here, that the Pagans cannot cross to the side of the living because if they can then I have to go there and protect the girl I love" I told her, I can die here, if this stays here, I am already dead how much will it hurt?

"How will you cross to the side of the living?" Sheila asked me, "I don't know yet, I will do something" I told her, "Maybe it is time you let Lilian go" she advised me, "I will, but I was assigned to protect her from the Pagans, I have to complete my job, besides I like to know that the people I killed stay dead" I told her.

"If you want to make sure that she stays alive, you need to stay alive and find out who is doing this" Sheila told me, "I will figure it out" Gabriel spoke after so long. "He is my friend, I will help" he shrugged and I gave him a small smile which he returned. "I can make sure that you both are not tracked or located" Sheila told us, "That works" Gabriel and I nodded.

She gestured Gabriel to step forward who stood right next to me. She placed one hand on Gabriel's chest and the other on mine, though I could not feel it, before closing her eyes and speaking a spell I could not understand but a surge of energy rushed through me and then it was gone.

Sheila removed her hand, "You are off their magic radar, they can find you by other means, if you find out answers I will be here to help you" she looked back and forth between us and before I could thank her, she disappeared into thin air.

"You killed Pagans?" Gabriel turned towards me with a grin. "Wipe that grin off your face, it was not pretty" I told him as I walked to the direction we came from. "But how did you do that? They travelled in hundreds if not thousands" he followed me, "I killed the bitch the dogs dropped dead" I told him. "To save Lily?" he asked me, "Yeah" I tried to remain indifferent.

"Do you want to stick together?" He asked me as we walked back to the town, "Sure" I shrugged. I had a to-do list on my mind. 1. Learn to use my body or objects for self-protection 2. Find who is doing this 3. Get the hell out of here 4. Inform Lily and get her somewhere safe 5. Kill whoever is doing this.

I will have to start with the second thing though.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **How are you finding the story so far? Please leave a review and let me know, it would mean the world to me and I swear it would not take more than a minute of your time. I will be waiting to hear from you all.**

 **Thank you and Keep reading!**

 _ **-JT**_


	4. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

As Gabriel and I tried to find answers to the most dangerous question, it seemed like we would never succeed. One thing that I found out about Gabriel was that he had a _huge_ network of people to find answers about literally anything. I had never witnessed such a massive network of people even when I was alive, it was crazy! But even with so many people giving out so much information, we still had no answers. The news was travelling that someone was killing the dead, but no one knew why, how or who? I was getting anxious.

"Maybe we are looking in the wrong place" Gabriel told me as we sat on a bench in the town square. "Yeah, but what is the right place?" I questioned looking down at the pavement. "I wish I knew; though there is good news with all this killing" Gabriel shrugged, what could he possible think is good in all this? "What is that?" I asked, "We know that it is here in Mystic Falls and that your girl is safe" Gabriel told me, that bought a smile on my face; he was right, that was all I wanted – Lily, safe.

I wondered what she must be doing at the university? It has been 1 month she had moved, I visited Damon and Elena the night they came back from visiting Lily. They discussed how happy she looked at the university, how well she had adjusted there. I was happy to know that she was doing well, she was safe and away. Though I missed her terribly. I did not feel complete without looking at her. I was always agitated, I just wanted to know how she was, what she was doing. After all, that has been what I had been doing since I died and for it to suddenly stop was weird on so many levels.

"You are right, but I want her to stay safe all the time" I told Gabriel, who sighed and asked, "Have you were given thought to the inevitable?" "That she would eventually die?" it was hard to say, I did not want her to die, Gabriel nodded, "Of course I have, but I want her to die old, in her bed, comfortable" I told him. "After she has lived her life to the fullest?" Gabriel asked me, "Yeah" I nodded. "So, you are okay if she goes on to marry someone and have kids?" I had never thought of that, it made a surge of jealousy erupt in my heart. "I am dead, she needs to move on" I mumbled. "See, you are lying" Gabriel pointed out, "Yeah, maybe I am but what is the point? Even if I was alive I could never give her that" I looked away. "What? Married her?" Gabriel questioned, "No, I would have married her" I said after a pause, if made me sick to think that I could never be with her again; "I would have never given her a family" Vampires cannot procreate it is a known fact. "But you would have loved her" Gabriel said, "I still do" I told him. "Which is why we cannot give up and find answers" Gabriel patted on my shoulder before getting up, and I copied his actions.

"I still know a few people who might have the answer and who might be able to teach us how to defend ourselves" Gabriel told me as we walked down the street. "Sounds good to me" I shrugged, and just as Gabriel was about to speak something we were interrupted. "Kaleb?" someone spoke from behind us, we both turned around quickly. It was a girl, she had blonde hair, baby blue eyes, pale skin and full lips. My mind went back to Lily instantly, this girl was quite the opposite of Lily in so many ways, and yet seemed so much like her.

Unlike Lily's long brunette hair, this girl has medium length blonde hair; this girl's baby blue eyes seemed nothing in comparison to Lily's intense blue eyes, and yet the most beautiful feature of their whole face was their eyes. Lily was tall and slim but this girl was curvy, their face shape was exactly similar though. "Do I know you?" I asked, "I am Ellie, you don't know me but I know you" she stepped forward. "Is there something we can do for you?" Gabriel asked when he noticed I was just looking at Ellie, I looked away. "No, but I know the answers to your questions" she looked at Gabriel then at me. Gabriel and I gave each other a puzzled glance. "You have guessed it right, these are the pagans" those are the words I never wanted to hear. I felt sick to my stomach, I felt angry.

"How do you know that?" Gabriel asked, "I witnessed first-hand how they are torturing and killing people to get to Kaleb" Ellie answered, "And how do we know you aren't one of them?" Gabriel asked. Ellie put her hand behind herself and Gabriel and I backed off a little. She pulled out a long black blade, "Woah!" Gabriel and I back off. "Relax, if I wanted to kill you I would have done it already it is for my own protection" Ellie told us. "I just wanted to let you guys know that I can protect you until I am able to teach you how to protect yourself" she continued.

"Yeah, we don't really trust you" Gabriel said, I was still trying to process the pagans part. "You have limited options here, look, it is not like I can kill you in your sleep, I will answer any questions you have" Ellie put the blade back in the back of her jeans, just like how Lily used to tuck her gun.

"How did you survive after witnessing the murder?" Gabriel asked her, "They were not interested in me, they just want to kill 2 people" Ellie held 2 fingers up. "Then why are they killing all these people?" Gabriel asked, "To spread fear and let Kaleb know they are coming" Ellie said as if it was the most obvious answer in the world. "Wait, what 2 people?" I asked her, "I just know the names – Kaleb and Lilian" Ellie told us, "I know you are Kaleb because of Gabriel, I don't know who Lilian is" she completed. I was shell shocked, I don't know what I looked like when Gabriel held me by my shoulder and shook me, bringing my attention to himself. "She is on the side of the living, they are still stuck here" he tried to reason with me.

"You know who Lilian is?" Ellie asked us, "Yeah" Gabriel replied before turning his attention to me. "We just need to figure out a way to kill them first" Gabriel said. "She is a living person and not the dead?" Ellie asked us, "Yeah" Gabriel told her, "Then don't worry about her, they are still figuring out how to get to the side of the living, it is a long way to go" she told me. "How do you know that?" I shouted, "Gabriel is not the only one with spies and something tells me I have better ones" she replied calmly.

"Look, you both need to stay out of the public eye, or at least keep a low profile; it was so easy to find you both, 2 idiots, sulking and asking questions" Ellie rolled her eyes. "Fine we will keep a low profile" Gabriel spoke, "And would you remove that scowl off your face?" Ellie told me, I was taken aback. "Thank you" she said, "First things first, find a place" Ellie told her, "Wait, you are not coming with us" Gabriel spoke, Ellie rolled her eyes again, "She is not coming with us, right?" Gabriel asked me, I shrugged. "You gotta be kidding me" Gabriel threw his hands in the air, defeated.

"Do you have a place?" she asked us, "He has a huge mansion" Gabriel told her, "Works, for a short time, the key is to keep moving" she told us and gestured me to lead the way. I eyed her but nonetheless moved ahead in the direction of my home. Gabriel quickly joined me on my right and Ellie on my left.

"What were you before you died?" Gabriel asked her, "Werewolf" she replied, "Great, a vampire, a warlock _and_ a werewolf working together" Gabriel said sarcastically. "Look, I just wanted to help you out alright" Ellie said, "Yeah, why is that? What do you get out of this?" Gabriel asked, he had a point, I looked at Ellie. "The murder I witnessed, it was my boyfriend, I want revenge" Ellie spoke coldly, I looked at her. "Who better to plot with than someone who had already killed them once" Ellie looked at me.

"I will help you, if you teach me how to use a blade to protect myself" I told her, of course I would kill them without a second thought once I am able to get a blade in my hand. "Baby steps first, I will teach you how to touch things" Ellie told me, "How long before I am able to learn that?" I asked her, "Are you motivated?" she questioned back, "You bet" I looked straight ahead. "Not long then, is he going to learn too?" She pointed towards Gabriel, "Hell, yeah!" Gabriel looked at Ellie as if she was crazy to even ask that question. "Fine, I will teach you too" Ellie told him.

We stood in front of my home. Ellie looked awestruck, "That is your home?" she asked, "Yeah" I told her. I walked through the gate and waited for them to follow me.

We sat on the couch facing each other when I asked Ellie a question, "Do you know why we cannot get out of Mystic Falls?" "Pagans casted a boundary spell around Mystic Falls to keep you stuck here" she replied, "Do you know what it is tied to?" Gabriel asked, "It is this ugly looking talisman of a Bennett witch" Ellie told us. "Bonnie Bennett?" Gabriel looked at me, "Could be" I shrugged. "I cannot touch it, I would have destroyed it already" Ellie told us. "I can talk to Damon" I spoke, "I just don't know how" I completed. "I will help you pick up things then you can talk to him and make him do whatever you think he can" Ellie told me.

"Sounds good to me, when do we start?" I asked her, "Whenever you want" Ellie shrugged. "Now?" I asked her, I did not want to waste any time, I needed to learn this as soon as possible, I have to protect Lily, maybe I can tell Damon about all this once I learn to hold things and get my message to him.

"Let's start" Ellie smirked and I smirked back.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **I hope you are liking the story so far, please leave a review to let me know. I swear it would not take more than a minute of your time, and it would mean the world to me. I will be waiting. Thank you!**

 _ **-JT**_


	5. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Gabriel, Ellie and I kept moving around town, always one step ahead of Pagan killings to avoid them. All the while Ellie was teaching Gabriel and I how to touch things, she called it "Taking baby steps" when I asked her when she would be teaching us to _hold_ things. It was easier some days but on other days I would get frustrated with myself for not being able to do anything, that is when Ellie would calm me down and tell me how wonderful I was doing with all of the new learning, but being myself, I was not satisfied.

The three of us were sitting in the living room of some random abandoned house in Mystic Falls, asking each other questions to get to know each other better and kill time. "Did you meet your boyfriend on this side?" Gabriel asked Ellie, "No, we died in a car accident, I died a day later than him, and when I crossed over, I saw him already looking over my body. He helped me adjust to this life" Ellie answered with a shrug. "How did you two died?" She asked after a small pause.

"I know you killed the Pagans, but why?" Ellie pointed towards me, "And what is your deal?" she asked Gabriel. "Go Ahead" I gestured to Gabriel. "I died due to overuse of magic" I could tell that much. "That is not very specific" Ellie knitted her brows together. "I was not doing anything heroic like you" Gabriel pointed towards me, "Or anything tragic like you" Gabriel looked at Ellie, "I was new to magic, I was unaware of what was right and what was wrong; unfortunately I got associated with wrong people who used my magic, to get what they wanted, it was long time ago" Gabriel shook his head.

"How long ago?" I asked, "13 years" he told us, I was surprised, Gabriel would be 30 in human years had he lived. "Your turn" Ellie turned towards me after a very long pause. "I – was trying to save Lilian" I knew she had heard about Lily. "Was she your girlfriend?" Ellie asked, "Yeah" I smiled. "And you were a vampire? And she was a human?" she asked like it was unheard of. "Yeah" I replied like it was not a big of a deal. "Well, whatever sails your boat" she chuckled as she got up.

"Let's get to it" she told us, and we got up. The practice went more smoothly than ever. We were not only able to touch things but also able to hold it in our hands. Ellie told us to focus on what we were holding, to think of it, to _feel_ it. To be able to hold something in my hand felt weirdly satisfying even though I could not feel it. "Why is it only now that we are able to touch and hold things?" Gabriel asked Ellie. "Maybe because of whatever Pagans did to put their foot in the world of the living" she shrugged, "They are half way stuck here, it needs a lot of energy to get to the side of the living, a foot hold in both sides" Ellie quickly added when she saw my worried expressions. "No witch is going to help them on either side after what they are doing" Gabriel assured me, "Yeah and they don't have enough power on their own" Ellie added. "But time _is_ running out" I was barely audible. "And you are almost ready" Ellie smiled. We were ready a week later.

I had found a blade heavier than Ellie's but similar looking to protect myself, Gabriel had a skinner but easier to move blade for his protection. Along with that he was trying to get his powers back to be able to get me out of Mystic Falls and warn Lily. It seemed as though I was so close to Lily and nothing can go wrong now. All I had to do was stay alive, keep Gabriel and Ellie alive, and in the meantime get the message to Lily somehow, and I knew how to do that – I just had to get to Damon or Elena.

I got to their house and looked at Gabriel and Ellie. "We will keep an eye out for you" Gabriel told me, "Just be quick" Ellie added. "Yeah" I nodded, "If someone comes for you, just run or teleport, we _will_ regroup at your house" Ellie instructed. "Be safe you two" I told them. "We'll be, you get in there now" Gabriel gestured with his head towards Damon and Elena's house, and I nodded before walking up the front poach steps.

I knew for a fact that Elena was not home, it was just Damon. I walked right through the door and into their house. It was so weird to be back here, I looked around, nothing had changed. ' _Focus_ ' I told myself and started covering the ground faster. I looked in the living room, the kitchen, the basement, the master bedroom, the master bathroom, basically the whole ground floor but there was no sign of Damon anywhere. I decided to teleport myself to the first floor.

As soon as I reached the hallway of the first floor I saw Damon in Lily's room, sitting on her bed looking around. He must be reminiscing about all the good ol' days. Though he looked sad, had a sour memory come up? I hardly recall something that would make him as sad as he looked. ' _Focus_ ' I reminded myself again and walked inside Lily's room.

I had not been here since she had left. I could feel my heart tightening inside my chest and a lump forming at the base of my throat. Gabriel and Ellie are waiting for me, I need to get control of my feelings. Once I eliminate the threat that those Pagans are posing right now, I can have all the time in the world to stand in this room. I walked to the vanity table and looked for something to move. When I found a lipstick on the vanity table I decided to do something I had not practiced with Ellie. I was going to write Damon a message.

I picked it up and Damon had not even noticed. I could not feel the lipstick but I opened the cap and deliberately dropped it on the floor, Damon's head instantly shot up. "What the hell?" he looked around, I know he could see the lipstick moving in thin air. I turned to the mirror quickly and wrote ' _I am Kaleb and I have a message_ '.

Damon pulled out his gun but moved closer to the mirror. He looked uncomfortable as he read the message, "How do I know it's you?" he asked me, of course I knew he was going to ask me that but I did not have time for this. I went ahead to write ' _Lily is in danger, warn her, I am stuck in Mystic Falls_ '. "What do you mean stuck?" he asked me, "And how are you writing?" he was shocked to say the least. ' _Pagans have casted a boundary spell to keep me here to kill me_ ' and the other message I wrote was ' _I am learning_ '. "Pagans?" I could understand the shock, I believe I looked just like that when I first heard the news. I had no more writing space now, ' _Warn her_ ' was all I could write. I dropped the lipstick on the floor and teleported out of the house to the front poach.

I saw Gabriel and Ellie waiting for me. "You took so long" Gabriel sounded worried, "I am sorry, let's go" I told them as we ran down the street to my house, to take shelter.

We would come back to this place often when we were sure that Pagans were not nearby. Gabriel and Ellie knew of this place like the back of their hand now. I had asked them to take any room they like, Gabriel was on the ground floor while Ellie and I were on the first floor.

I was walking to my room after Gabriel and Ellie had already left for their room and on my way to turning to the hallway, I bumped into Ellie. "I am sorry" I held her by her shoulder, she looked up at me from under her lashes. It immediately reminded me of Lily, and how she used to look at me the same way. "No, I am sorry, I did not mind where I was going" Ellie said softly. For a moment, or maybe longer, I kept looking at her, dumbstruck just thinking about how similar she was to Lily. It was when I heard her breath getting caught in her throat that I came back to my senses. I let go of her immediately and stepped back.

I could see her supressing a shy smile, and I could not help but smile back. "Where were you going?" I asked her, trying to change the topic, "I was getting bored, I thought I would read a book, I was going to ask you but I did not find you in your room so I thought maybe you would be downstairs" she babbled on nervously, just like Lily. "You can do _whatever_ you want" I told her, "Thanks" Ellie replied with a shy smile.

I moved out of her way to let her go downstairs while I watched her descend the staircase. I sighed and continued walking to my room, thinking about – of course – Lily and how I would get to see her again and as always imagining scenarios of how she would react when I talk to her like I talked to Damon, with her I will have more time on hand. Another exciting thing to imagine was what her life would be right now? was she happy in her life? I hope she is, she deserves it.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **I haven't received any reviews, aren't you people liking the story? Please let me know your opinions, it will take less than a minute. Hit the Favourite and Follow button if you like the story**

 _ **-JT**_


	6. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

We had to get to Sheila Bennett as soon as possible, Gabriel had found out that the Pagans were on the move. They were planning to step out of Mystic Falls now and towards Lily. At first Ellie told me to inform Damon about it but as soon as the three of us reached Damon and Elena's home, we noticed Pagans swamping the place and our best bet was to get out of there, because if we died, there is no way Lily could be saved. So, we ran and decided to pay a visit to Sheila Bennett.

I had decided to beg her to help me cross the boundary spell somehow and let me get to Lily. She had told us that she would help, this was the time we needed her most desperately and we were making our way to the place where we last saw her. "She is got to be here somewhere" Gabriel spoke a loud when she was nowhere to be seen. "Sheila?" I called out, "Are you sure she is going to be here?" Ellie asked looking around. "Yes" Gabriel and I spoke together, "We know you are here, please show yourself" I begged, but nothing happened.

"We need you" Gabriel spoke, "Our lives are on the line" Ellie joined in as we all looked around to see if something changed but nothing happened at all. Could she not understand what was going on? Why was she not showing up? She told us she would, then why was she taking her own sweet time?! I could not wait any longer. "Show yourself" my voice raised an octave higher. "I don't think she is here, is there any place else you know?" Ellie asked Gabriel, but I could sense someone watching us. "She is here, I know she is" I told them, "Then why is she not showing up?" Ellie asked, "Show yourself!" I shouted angrily, "Please" my voice ended in a whisper.

"What do you need from me?" her voice startled us, we turned around to see her standing a few feet away from us. I ran up to her, "I need your help, we have figured out a way" I told her, "What way?" she looked at me up and down. "I need you to help me cross the boundary spell" I told her, "It is not as easy as you make it sound and if I do that they can follow you there" Sheila chuckled and turned around. "We just need you to open a portal of a sort so that he can escape" Gabriel started, "and we will guide it" Ellie joined in. "You are two, they are thousands, you can die" Sheila looked at them from over her shoulder. "We will die trying" Ellie replied sternly making Sheila turn around. "Just close it as soon as I escape" I told her, "You might not be able to come back to Mystic Falls and be the only one stuck there when the Pagans come" Sheila told me.

"We will figure out a way" Gabriel spoke, "But please we need to do it now, they are on the move" he completed. Sheila looked at us for a moment and then spoke again, "Alright, I will help you cross the boundary spell and give you exactly 6 hours to come back to the exact spot from where you left, from where I will open the portal again, as soon as the 6 hours are up I can't help you come back and as for the two of you, you better run after 6 hours are up because they will be all over that place by then." The three of us nodded in sync, "I will help you exit at dawn, meet me at the end of the forest near the Lockwood Cellar" Sheila said before disappearing.

I turned to Gabriel and Ellie, "Are you sure you will be able to guard it?" I asked them, "Don't worry about us guarding it, I have some of my magic back, worry about coming back" Gabriel told me, "I am ready to kill some of those dogs and bitches" Ellie smirked, "Let's go make sure the place and safe and clear it out if it is not" I told them and they nodded as we made our way towards the spot where Sheila told us to meet her. As expected the exit was being guarded, but since it was a well-hidden place as it is, there weren't many Pagans guarding it.

"What do we do now?" Gabriel asked, "I will distract him, you kill them" Ellie pointed towards a guy first and then towards two other. The guy she pointed towards first was tall and bulgy while the other two were lean. "How will you distract them?" I asked Ellie, she pulled down her shirt a little revealing her cleavage a little and ruffled up her hair. She picked up a handful of dirt from the ground and dropped it on her jacket, shirt and a little on her face. Ellie slowly crawled towards the other side of the Lockwood Cellar without being seen.

What she did next even threw us off guard. A shrieking sound escaped her lips and she made a run towards the guy she pointed all the while looking back, totally petrified as if she was being hunted and ' _accidentally_ ' she bumped into the tall, bulgy guy who held her by her shoulders and looked behind her. "You have to help me please!" she pleaded as she held onto the guy like her life depended on it. "Please save me!" she begged again, tears in her eyes. "What is wrong?" he asked looking at the other two guys who looked at Ellie confused. "They are trying to kill me, please help me" she begged again.

"But there is no one else in the parameter" one of the lean guys said to the other two, "Were you being followed?" the bulgy guy asked, "yes, yes!" Ellie looked scared out of her mind. "I will go and see" the bulgy guy spoke cockily, "No, they will kill you!" she begged, "Don't worry, follow me" he looked at her like she was his damsel in distress, if only he knew!

The two of the made their way out of our view and I signalled Gabriel to go. We quickly made our way behind the two guys and covered their mouth at the same time so that they did not make a sound. The guy struggled under my grasp and let out a small muffled scream, before he could make anymore sound, I pulled out my huge black blade and chopped off his head in one swift move. The guy under Gabriel's grasp also dropped as his head rolled on the ground. Just then the bulgy guy returned with Ellie a few steps behind him, as soon as he saw the scene in front of him, his eyes grew wide and he reached out for something from behind but before he could make a move Ellie already had her blade out and she chopped off his head in a swift motion.

We regrouped near the bodies, "I did not know you could act so well" Gabriel told Ellie, "Well, I am not the one to brag" Ellie rolled her eyes playfully, making Gabriel and I chuckle. "Let's get rid of them" Ellie said after throwing a glance in my direction.

We had put their bodies in the Lockwood Cellar and made our way out of there. "You have nothing to worry about here, just inform your girl and come back" Gabriel told me, "I know you will take care of it, but please don't die, either of you" I told them, "We aren't dying tonight" Ellie told me, "You really are something else" I chuckled, "I have always been a good fighter" Ellie said proudly as we all sat down near the exit where we were supposed to meet Sheila.

As soon as the dawn fell on us, Sheila appeared out of thin air, startling us. "This gap between the trees is going to be your portal" Sheila told me, the other side of the trees was a road that would lead me straight to my destination. "Alright" I nodded, "Six hours and not a minute more, be sure to come here with a minute to spare" she told me and I nodded. Sheila sighed and closed her eyes before speaking a spell I could not understand. A gush of wind touched us before it died away.

"Go, quickly" Sheila told me in urgency, I looked over at Gabriel and Ellie who nodded in encouragement and I walked forward, my eyes closed. This time there was no invisible wall, like I had expected. When I opened my eyes, I was standing on the road. I turned around to see Gabriel and Ellie cheering happily. "Run" Gabriel told me with a grin and I nodded. I wanted to thank Sheila but she had already disappeared. I looked at the road ahead of me and without a second thought I ran.

All the while my heart was beating loudly in my chest, as if it would escape my chest any moment. I was going to talk to Lily and see her after so long. I wonder what she was doing right now? The thought of seeing Lily after so long made every other thing disappear from my mind. She was the centre of my attention and even if I am killed there, once I saw her, it won't matter.

I stood outside her dorm room door and I could hear her voice from inside. She was talking to someone, but since I could not hear another voice, it must have been that she was talking on the phone. As soon as she kept her phone down, I stepped inside her room. The scene in front of my eyes changed, I saw the typical room of two college students and Lily's back towards me. She was wearing a short sleeve, thigh length, grey t-shirt dress and black gladiator heels, her hair tied in a loose top knot bun, she had changed so much in her appearance. "Lily" I whispered, even though I knew she could not hear me.

I did not want to stop looking at her but I turned around to lock the door without making a sound. I did not want her to run when I start talking to her, she might not be as open minded as Damon after all.

I looked that her notebook was open on her desk and her pen on the notebook. I walked over to her desk and picked up her pen, all the while trying to get a glimpse of her face but I could not. I opened the pen and wrote on her notebook ' _It is me Kaleb, don't run, I need to talk to you_ '. I wondered if I had caught her attention yet but I had not. I kept the pen down and took a book on her desk and threw it on the floor.

It startled Lily and she turned around. Had she gotten more beautiful since the last time I saw her? Was that even possible? The light from the window reflected on her face, making her vivid blue eyes look even more gorgeous than the last time I remembered. Her beautiful face made my heart skip a beat, I wanted to touch her face. She picked up the book I had thrown on the floor and put it on the desk, absentmindedly, and not once looking at the notebook.

I threw two books down this time, making her startle again. "What the hell?" she whispered but rather than making her way to pick up the books this time, she quickly walked to her closet from where she drew her gun. She keeps a gun in her closet? She looked around the room but she could not see anything, I decided the pick up the notebook when she walked over to pick up the books.

"Oh my god!" she fell back on the floor when she saw the notebook, for her, it must be flying in thin air. She looked at the notebook finally and a single tear escaped her eye. I wondered if I could wipe it away, but before I could stop myself, my hand had already touched her cheek and I could wipe her tear away which startled her. "You are here" she whispered, I sat down next to her and wrote on her notebook, ' _Yes_ '.

"Why can't I see you?" she asked me, ' _I am still a ghost, I don't have much time_ ' I wrote, "What do you mean?" she asked, ' _You are in danger, the Pagans haven't gone yet and they are coming here for you_ ' "Are you okay?" she asked in an urgency, it made me chuckle, only Lily would ask if I am okay when I just told her that she was in danger. ' _yes_ ' I wrote. For a moment I thought she was going to say the words I have been waiting to hear, something like "I've missed you" or "I love you" but what she said threw me off guard. "Why are you here? I was finally happy" her voice wobbled. "You came here to tell me that I am in danger, but had it not been better if you left me alone?" she continued and looked at the notebook, but what was I supposed to write? I was dumbstruck.

"I want you gone, I don't want to hear from you again, I am happy in my life and I have people to protect me so just leave" she looked away from the notebook. I froze in my place and felt my heart sink to my stomach. Was that what she really wanted? "You know I had a life, I found a guy who makes me happy" she spoke after a pause, "I don't need you" was the final stroke. I wrote on the notebook ' _Look out for them, be safe_ ' before I threw the pen down and got up from the floor.

If she doesn't need me, if there is someone else making her happy, I would not be the one to stand in the way of that. After all, what could I give her? Words written on a piece of paper, tears, and sadness. She could not even see me or touch me; I am not the kind of guy who would make her hold onto me for my selfish reasons. I walked over to the door and unlocked it before transporting out of her room without looking back. I knew if I looked back, I would not be able to leave her. I just hope whoever it is that she has found makes her happy, if he hurt her, I would make sure he suffers.

When I almost reached the spot where I was supposed to, I saw Gabriel and Ellie fighting off a few guys near the spot. "Gabriel! Ellie!" I shouted as I tried to make my way through the trees but an invisible wall was holding me back. I pounded on the wall as a guy landed a punch on Gabriel's face and another one dragged Ellie by her hair.

"Ellie!" I shouted, my eyes widened when I saw the guy pulling out a blade, Ellie, kicked him in the stomach and broke free from his grasp. Gabriel had the other guy decapitated, but a girl from behind attack Gabriel and swung her blade on his back making him fall on his knees as he gasped and his blade dropped from his hand and the girl kicked his blade away from him. "Where are you Sheila?" I whispered, I looked at my watch 9 minutes to go. Ellie picked up the blade from the guy she had just decapitated and threw it in Gabriel's direction who turned around and decapitated the girl about to attack him. Ellie helped him up and then both prepared for the next attack on them while I stood there helplessly, pounding and kicking on the invisible wall.

When a minute was left Sheila appeared out of thin air near the trees. "Let me in!" I shouted, watching Ellie getting attacked by three guys at once. While she was able to kill two of them, she could barely manage to crawl away from the third. Sheila chanted her spell and the gust of wind made the five guys standing turn towards the portal and they made a run towards it.

Two of the almost made it out on the side I was standing but I caught them by their throat at an arm's length and walked on the side of Mystic Falls while pushing them away. Their hands grabbed mine by the wrist but I tightened my grip on their throat before I threw them effortlessly, making them crash into the three other guys.

Sheila closed the portal and looked at us, I gave her a nod and she disappeared into the thin air. I looked forward and the guy attacking Ellie charged towards me, I kicked him in the chest making him fly backwards. I held the other guy by his arm and twisted it around before jabbing him in the throat and holding his hair and pulling his head off his body. The other four guys looked at me with their eyes wide and then at each other.

I threw the guy's head towards them and two of them charged towards me, I pulled out my blade. I jammed one of the guy's attack with my blade and unarmed him before holding him in front of me as my shield, the other guy swung at this throat and put a deep enough cut for me to easily rip off his head.

I threw the body and the head away with a soft swing I decapitated the other guy. I charged towards the other two guy who charged at me and before the first one could anticipate anything, I swung my blade at him and his head dropped before his body could touch the ground. The last guy I held by his throat and unarmed him. "Where is Helen?" I asked from between my teeth, I saw fear in his eyes but he did not open his mouth. "I will kill you if you don't tell me" I told him, "I am going to be killed anyways" he told me, "I will not let Helen kill you if you tell me" for a moment he looked in my eyes before he dropped his head and spoke.

"She is moving around, gathering enough power to step on the side of the living, leaving you stuck here" he told me, then he looked up and said, "Don't let her kill me". "I am not going to let Helen kill you" I told him, "What are you doing? Kill him, he will rat us out if you let him go" Gabriel shouted, "I said I would not let Helen kill him" I looked at Gabriel who was on his knees, writhing in pain. "I never said I would not kill him" before the guy could react I decapitated him looking him dead in his eyes.

I turned towards Gabriel and Ellie, Gabriel fell on the ground, his eyes still open but Ellie had already passed out.

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think of the story. Hit the follow and favourite button if you like the story. Keep reading**

 ** _-JT_**


	7. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

I picked up Ellie, my right hand tucked under her knees and left hand around her shoulders, her head was on my chest and her eyes closed, her lips were ashen and I could see a few wounds, but none of those bled. I had asked Gabriel if he could walk and even though he had nodded, I knew he could not hold on much longer. "Ellie?" I kept asking, hoping she would wake up. "We will go to my house" I told Gabriel who just nodded, his eyes were almost closed and he was just dragging himself close to me.

My house was close to where we were currently, and I felt like I could protect them in my house. After all, they were in this condition because of me. "Don't close your eyes mate, just hold on" I told Gabriel, who nodded weakly. I had to find a solution for this, maybe Gabriel knows how to get them better, but the priority at this moment was to get them safe. We were almost running through the streets, trying to remain as discreet as possible. At the end of the street, I could see my house.

I pushed the iron gates with my back and let Gabriel in first, I followed him quickly and shut the iron gates close again. We rushed inside the house now and I locked the doors once we were inside. Gabriel sunk to the ground, panting heavily. "Gabe!" I exclaimed, I quickly put Ellie on the couch and rushed to Gabriel, helping him up on his feet and dragging him to one of the armchair next to Ellie. "Do you know how I can help you both?" I asked him in urgency, sitting on my knees in front of him. "Find – Find" Gabriel started, "Josh, in the – the" he continued, "Grill, he is – tall, blond, tell him –" Gabriel struggled to speak, "I need help, ask him to give – you – the herbs to heal" Gabriel completed. "Alright" I nodded, "but I can't leave you like this, you would not be able to protect yourself" I told him, "I will – put a boundary – spell" Gabriel panted. "Can you do it?" I asked him, "It is not – like I could di—die" Gabriel gave me a weak smile.

"I need – something—to tie the spell" he explained, I thought for something powerful, and looked around for some ideas and then it stuck to me, "Use me" I told him, "My ghost, spirit or whatever that I am" I told him, "That could – work, only – you will able to come inside" Gabriel nodded and stretched his hand out, palm facing upward, I took it without a second thought. The unburnt candles on the coffee table lit up, "If I die out there, I would not be able to save you" I spoke out the worst-case scenario, "If you die, we are dead anyways – so don't – die" Gabriel said before closing his eyes and chanting a spell, a wave of energy rushed through me and then it disappeared. It felt similar to what Sheila Bennett had done when she made sure we stayed off the magic radar.

Gabriel let go of my hand and groaned in pain, falling back on the armchair. "Gabe!" I hovered over him, "Go – we don't have – much time" Gabriel looked at me seriously and after throwing a last glance at Ellie, I rushed out of the living room and out of the house.

To the Grill, I would find the solution there. I rushed down the street, keeping myself in the dark shadows as much as possible. Even if I come back on time and the Pagans are waiting right outside, I would not be able to save Gabriel and Ellie. I had to keep them away from the house as much as possible. I don't think they would catch up on us this soon. The Grill is not that far away, I can be back and help them before the Pagans come finding us.

I rushed inside the Grill and looked around for a dead, blond, tall guy. How was Gabriel so sure to find Josh right here? Is this his usual spot? I tried to keep the questions out of my mind and focus on finding and getting the herb. I scanned through the whole place and in one corner, I noticed a dead, blond, tall guy seating, looking around. I darted towards him but as soon as he saw me coming towards him, he got up and tried to walk away very subtly. ' _I am not losing you_ ' I thought to myself as I darted after him.

He took the back exit of the Grill and I followed him out. "Josh!" I shouted and he came to a halt and turned around. "Who are you?" he asked me, "Gabriel needs your help" I told him, "Gabriel?" his brows were creased together, "He is injured, he needs the herb" I did not even know what herb I was talking about here. "Are you Kaleb?" Josh asked me, "Yes" I nodded. Josh chuckled and said, "I told Gabriel not to get engaged" "What do you mean?" I asked him, a puzzled look crossed my face. "You are like the most wanted person here" Josh gestured towards our surrounding, "Getting engaged with you will get people killed" he told me. "I am trying to save Gabriel, he trusts you" I told him after a pause.

"I don't trust you" Josh told him, "But you do trust Gabriel" I said. "I don't want to get involved with you" Josh turned his back on me and that is when I lost my cool, I did not have time for this, I need to save my friends. I held him by his shoulder and turned him around. I held his collar and pushed him against the wall. "You are going to help me one way or another, and I don't want to kill you but I _will_ " I spoke from between my teeth. "How will _you_ kill me?" he chuckled. I put my forearm against his throat making it impossible for him to move and pulled out my blade from behind me.

I put the blade against his throat and said "Let's do this again, why don't you give me the herb and we both can walk away?" "Fine!" Josh tried to struggle under my gasp and looked in shock at the blade. "It is in my pocket, take it!" he exclaimed pointing towards his jacket. I put my blade back, without losing the grip on his throat, I reached for the pocket in his jacket and pulled out a plastic bag. I looked at it and it had some green herb in abundance.

"If this does not work, I am going to find you and it would end badly for you" I gave him a little shove against the wall and let go of him before turning around. "People around you will die – including Gabriel" Josh shouted as I walked away. I stopped for a brief second and then walked away without saying a word.

To my relief, there was no one around the house and I could easily get inside. When I reached the living room, I saw Gabriel passed out on the floor near Ellie. "Gabriel!" I tried to wake him up by shaking him but in vain. I put his arm around my shoulder and dragged him to the room he had chosen here.

I laid him down on the bed and examined for all the wounds I could see. There was no blood at all, I could see the flesh. I opened the clear plastic bag and kept it on the nightstand and turned Gabriel to his side before lifting his shirt. Never had I ever thought I would be doing this. I saw huge wounds on his back but thankfully none of his chest or stomach. I made him lie on his stomach and carefully put the herbs on the wounds on his back and on his arms before rushing to Ellie with the herb.

I picked her up from the couch and rushed upstairs to her bedroom. I laid her down on the bed and pulled out the herb bag. I saw a decorative white ceramic bowl on the nightstand and I emptied some of the contents of the bag in the bowl. It was then when I turned to put the herb on Ellie's wounds that I realized that I would have to _check_ for the wounds first.

I could see a small wound on her cheekbone under her left eye. I first put the herb there softly. I then removed the leather jacket she was wearing, exposing her arms. She had several wounds on her arms, on which I proceeded to put the herb. I noticed a long wound two inches below her collar bone. I could see her chest rising up and down very slowly and it made me hesitant to touch her. ' _You are just treating her wounds_ ' I told myself and I proceeded with putting the herb on her wound.

I saw her t shirt was torn from her waist to her stomach on the left side and a wound visible. I lifted her t shirt enough to put the herb on her wound and then I looked for any other wound left to be treated but there was none. I sighed of relief and put the bowl back on the nightstand with some of the herb still in the bowl.

When I had reached the door to leave, I heard Ellie groan. I turned around quickly. "Kaleb" her voice was weak, "Ellie" I was by her side the next second. Her eyes were slightly open, she still was ashen white. "What happened?" she asked me as I sat down next to her. "We brought you home" I tried to give her a smile. "Did you meet your girl?" she asked weakly, to be honest, I had almost forgotten my meeting with Lily and how painful it was.

"Yeah" I nodded and looked down at my hands. "Did it go well? Did she miss you?" Ellie asked me, "Let's not talk too much, you still need to rest" I told her. "I am fine" she tried to put on a brave face, "Sure" I replied sarcastically and rolled my eyes. "Did she miss you?" Ellie pressed, I sighed but did not answer. "C'mon, what is wrong?" Ellie tried to turn to her left side to face towards me. "No!" I softly held her by her shoulders to keep her straight. "I have put on some herb on your wounds, you need to wait for it to heal" I told her. "Okay" Ellie nodded and closed her eyes for a moment.

"It did not go well" I finally spoke and she opened her eyes. "Why?" she asked, "Turns out it is more complicated than I expected" I gave her a weak smile. "What is complicated?" her eyes tried to search mine. "She has moved on" I replied after a pause. "That doesn't sound good" Ellie frowned, "I would miss you if I were her" Ellie shrugged lightly. It made me feel a strange surged in my heart but I ignored it.

"I don't expect her to wait around for me, I am dead, she is alive, she needs to live her life" I told Ellie, "That sounds right" Ellie agreed. "Are you still going to save her?" Ellie asked me, I looked into her eyes and after a pause I replied "Till my last breath".

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think of the story. Hit the follow and favourite button if you like the story. Keep reading**

 ** _-JT_**


	8. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

Given the circumstances we were in, as soon as Gabriel and Ellie got better, we decided to rush to Damon with the new information we had received. Anyone standing in the way of Pagans when they made their move was going to be killed, which put a lot of people on their hit list. They had apparently discarded the thought of killing me, thinking I would be stuck on this side when they make their move to get to the side of the living. Gabriel, Ellie and I had already found a witch who was willing to help us get to the side of the living when the Pagans crossover.

If only we could get a foothold in the world of the living, it would make things much easier, which is why we were going to pay Damon a visit. I hoped that he would be on board with the plan, giving that it would not just be his daughter but also the daughter of his best friend Bonnie Bennett whose life will be on stake, for she would be the first person, given that she practically lives with Lily, to get killed when they reach to them.

"How will we make this work?" Ellie asked, "I will send the message across to him, ask him to help us" I told her, "What if he refuses?" Ellie questioned back, "Why would he?" a puzzled look crossed my face, "They are so many, why would they need us?" she made sense, "I would not sit idly on this side and see them getting killed" I shook my head. "What makes you so sure that they would be killed?" she was taken aback, "The Pagans are just too many, and they would not get tricked, they will be more carefully now, Lily's side needs more number of people" I told her. "Fine" she sighed and then continued, "Let's do this".

Gabriel was out there, somewhere, gathering information about how we were supposed to crossover. Ellie and I entered the familiar house and I immediately spotted Damon in the kitchen. "That is Damon Salvatore?" Ellie sounded impressed, I rolled my eyes. "He looks so – " I knew she could not find the word, the whole world knew Damon as the ruthless vampire, the bad guy; very few people knew him as the protective father and loving husband. "Civil?" I chuckled, "Let's go" I walked to the living room with Ellie hot on my heels.

"Let's see" I looked around for something to bring Damon's attention to me. I could break a glass, but that would be too dramatic. I noticed a wooden spatula on the kitchen counter and knocked it off ever so gently. Damon immediately turned around. "Kaleb?" he spoke after a long pause, "Bingo!" I replied, if only he could hear me. "Should I get the Ouija board out?" Damon asked sarcastically and I rolled my eyes.

He walked to the living room where Ellie and I followed after him. He picked up a notepad and a pen from one of the side tables and kept it on the coffee table as he settled down on the couch. I sat down beside him, and Ellie sat down next to me. I picked up the pen and started writing, ' _Did you tell Lily about what I told you?_ ' "Of course, and I have heard that you paid her a little visit" Damon smirked, "I thought you couldn't get out of this place" he continued, ' _I had a little help but now I need your help_ ' "My help? With what?" Damon questioned. "Tell him about the news first" Ellie instructed me, ' _Very soon, Pagans are going to try to get on the side of the living_ ' I wrote, "When?" his mood changed suddenly, a serious look washed over his face. ' _I don't know exactly when, I am working on that part but when they do anyone close to, or protecting her Lily will be on the hit list_ ' "Olivia?" Damon asked in disbelief. "He caught up fast" Ellie sounded impressed.

' _Yes_ ' I did not wanted to believe that innocent people like Olivia were in danger just as much as Lily and as much as I hated to feel bad, I couldn't help but think maybe Lily's new _boyfriend_ would be in danger as well, given that he has one decent bone in his body and he tries to protect her, no matter how stupid that that may be. "What help do you want? I can try to bring Lily home but I don't think she will listen" Damon speak from between his teeth, ' _We are trying to get to the side of the living when they try, we have help here_ ' "We?" Damon sounded surprised. ' _My two friends and I_ ' I wrote, "And they are going to help protect my daughter?" Damon asked in disbelief. ' _Yes_ ' "Why?" Damon creased his brows together. ' _They have their reasons_ ' I was not going to sit here and explain everything to Damon.

"Tell him that you saved us and we believe in repaying the debt" Ellie shrugged, that was true, after I had protected Gabriel and Ellie they had promised to help me kill Pagans as a means to repay the debt, though I had told them they were not indebt of me. "What reasons?" Damon questioned, "Tell him" Ellie encouraged me. ' _I saved their lives and they are going to repay the debt by helping me save Lily_ '.

"What can I do for you?" Damon asked me after a pause, ' _We need a witch to give us a foot hold on the side of the living_ ' I wrote, "Bonnie?" Damon's voice was a whisper, ' _Do you think she would do it?_ ' I had to ask, "I will have to talk to her" he sighed. ' _Tell her it is not just Lily anymore and you would need help_ ' and then I wrote, ' _I will be back in a while and let you know when we need your help_ '.

Ellie and I were walking to the town's square where we were supposed to meet Gabriel but on our way to the town's square we were greeted by some of Helen's minions. At first it seemed like they did not recognize, Ellie and I lowered our heads and tried to walk past them. We could take them out but keeping a low profile would be the better call.

"These two look strangely familiar, don't they?" a man mocked behind us, Ellie looked at me from under her lashes and I subtly shook my head. "You!" someone put a hand on my shoulder making me stop abruptly. I turned around slowly, "Weren't you the one who tore through my friends?" the man looked closely at me, his snake like eyes sharp as knives. "Me?" I questioned back, pretending to be oblivious.

The man muttered curses under his breath before he raised his fist and threw it at my face but all I had to do was move my face a little out of the way to dodge his punch. His lips were set in a straight line and his fist clench onto my collar tightly while the others moved close to me. "Why do you want to make a scene in the middle of the Town's square?" I asked him before looking down at his hand on my collar which he reluctantly let go.

"Let's go" I told Ellie and we both turned away. I knew what they were doing next, I turned around to catch the man's wrist mid-air and twisting it sharply which made him let go of his blade. "Don't make me kill you" I warned him, "You are outnumbered" he groaned in pain. "You should learn this by now, numbers do not win a fight" I shook my head as I pulled out my blade.

"Let's see if Helen can stitch your hand back" I smirked as I raised my blade. Just as I was about to butcher the man's hand, a girl leaped in the air and kicked the blade out of my hand. I held the man with my arm around his neck and his body carefully positioned in front of my body. Ellie ran towards the girl who had my blade in her hand and with a spinning wheel kick on the girl's face, the girl landed on the floor with my blade a few feet away from her.

What Ellie did not see was a man grabbed a chunk of her hair and pulled her down, with another girl holding her hands behind her back. "Let her go" I tightened my grip on the man's neck. "You do it first" the girl shouted, I swear sometimes I want to tear through these Pagans and end them once and for all. I looked at Ellie who was waiting for me to signal her to tear them down and with a subtle nod I gave her the cue.

Ellie yanked her hands free from the girl and swiftly stabbed her in the stomach while I tried to hold the man under my grip firmly, but she was overpowered by the other man. The man I was holding tried to kick me in my knees but I dodged it and before I could realize what was happening to me all I felt was blood pulsing through my veins especially around my eyes and a sharp sting in my gums and though I had forgotten what it felt like the first time – maybe, just maybe, this is what it felt like when I was transformed into a vampire.

Before I could stop myself, I sunk my fangs in the man's neck and though no blood rushed out of the arteries like it would have otherwise, the shrieking sound of fear was just as sweet as I remembered when I fed on people, until his head fell from his body and I let go of him. The whole atmosphere around me had changed. Everyone was looking at me – shocked and scared, even Ellie.

But none of that bothered me, what did bother me was the fact that I desperately wanted something – I wanted blood. I wanted – no I needed to feed, I needed human blood and I do not think I have craved for it more than I am craving for it now.

"Freak!" This girl standing right in front of my announced it loud enough for everyone to hear. "Let's get out of here" the man holding Ellie made the call and no one argued with him. He shoved Ellie down, who still looked shocked and scared. I quickly rushed to Ellie and dropped to my knees next to her.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, but all she did was stare at my face. I knew for a fact that I looked like my normal human self – no fangs. "How did you?" she finally spoke, "I don't know" I told her truthfully. "You cannot be a vampire" her voice was almost a whisper. "I need you to promise me not to tell this to Gabriel" I said in an urgency. "Why?" her brows were creased together, "They might stop helping us—those witches" I told her. When Ellie did not speak again and looked away, I took her hands in my hands and said, "Please". For a second, she flinched but did not pull her hands away.

She sighed and scooted closer to me while her hands were still in my hands. "You do know that this is not normal, right?" she looked at me from under her lashes. "I know but once we are on the side of the living, it would not matter, I would become a vampire anyways" I tried to reason with her. "Be honest with me" she started as she freed one hand from my hands and placed it on my shoulder, "Do you feel the urge to feed?" she asked and my heart skipped a beat, how did she know? "Why?" I asked in disbelief. "Kaleb, we do not know what would happen when we come back to life, dead people are supposed to stay dead and if we break the cycle, we will have to pay the price" she told me.

I looked down at our hands and lied, "No" "Then I would not tell Gabriel" she said after a pause. "We need to get there though because Gabriel must be waiting" I got up first and gave Ellie my hand who took it reluctantly and I helped her on her feet. "I hope you are not hurt" I asked her as I let go of her hand. "No, I am fine" she shook her head and bent down to pick up our blades. She offered me my blade and I took it with a smile, tucking it in its usual place.

"Where have you been?" Gabriel whisper shouted as he walked to us in the Town Square. "We ran into some trouble" Ellie looked at me for a brief second before speaking. "Pagans?" Gabriel looked at Ellie first and then at me and we both nodded. "I think I know why" Gabriel shook his head, "It is happening tonight, did you talk to Damon?" Gabriel asked me, "I did, I think he would need some time to convince Bonnie" I said, "We don't have time, if Bonnie does not agree, we have to do it without her" Gabriel said firmly. "Do you think we will make it without Bonnie?" I asked, "It is our only change, but we need to be close to their ritual to harness power from them and Bonnie, if she agrees needs to be there too" Gabriel answered.

"If any of us are near any of them, we will get killed" Ellie pointed out, "They will kill Bonnie" I made it more specific. "We need a plan and we don't have enough time" Gabriel sighed in frustration. "I am still working on the location, you need to convince Damon and Bonnie because this is our only shot or we are stuck here" Gabriel instructed me. "Meet us at Damon's" I told Gabriel, "Please convince them and stay low" Gabriel urged and I nodded.

"Let's go" I told Ellie who nodded as we both jogged away from Gabriel.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **Sorry everyone, I have my exams coming up which is why I could not update. Please leave a review and let me know what you think of the story. Hit the follow and favourite button if you like the story. Keep reading**

 ** _-JT_**


	9. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

Damon, Elena, Bonnie and Enzo were standing in the Lockwood Cellar close enough to the Pagans doing the spell but in a closed off location, a boundary spell due to which any living person could not enter. The whole idea was that if things go right and we enter the Lockwood Cellar while being dead, Bonnie would be able to channel energy from the Pagans' to bring us back to life, anyone standing outside the boundary spell would still remain dead and even if the Pagans did come back to life they would not be able to enter the Cellar due to the boundary spell and we could easily get out. The three of us along with the warlock Josh were standing a lot closer to the Pagans. "If things go wrong" Josh started, "We are here to protect you" Ellie did not let him complete. "I am doing the spell and I am out the rest is on your witch on the side of the living" Josh told us, "Fine but if the spell does not work, I will come and kill you" I threatened him. I did not trust Josh, "It will work, I want you out of here more than anyone else" he told me and I looked away, rolling my eyes at him.

To be honest, looking at so many Pagans at one place with the witch in the middle was making my heart pound. If this goes wrong, I will sentence 3 people to their death and a lot more when they are done with us. I closed my eyes and I remembered the face I was doing this for. I remember it very vividly – When I was tortured by Damon in the Lockwood Cellar, Lily had brushed her hair away from her neck and let me feed on her to safe my life, it was so difficult to stop but I did. I remember how I had kissed her for the first time in the alley behind the Grill. I opened my eyes and took a deep breath – it does not matter if Lily loved someone else, I will protect her forever, and though she has asked me not to show my face again, I will find a way to see her again.

"It's getting started" Ellie announced and I was out of my trance in an instant. All of those leeches were standing, holding hands in a spiral circle with their leader in the middle. "Hold each other's hands" Josh instructed us, I was in the middle with Ellie on my left and Gabriel on my right. Josh and the Pagans started their chants at the same time and the wind started to pick up, the dry leaves were lifted off the ground and the trees bent over.

"Are you ready?" Ellie asked me, "I think so" my heart was pounding loudly, I looked at Gabriel who gave me a weak smile. "I am done, get over to your witch and ask her to complete the spell" Josh told us, "I think they have caught on to us" Ellie announced looking at the Pagans, "I am out of here" before we could even thank Josh, he was gone. I looked at the Pagans, a few of them were looking at us directly, I looked back at Ellie and Gabriel "Run!" I exclaimed, they looked at me for a brief moment before doing just as I had said. I pushed my feet off the ground as well, I just hope that Bonnie had started the spell.

I could easily run ahead of both Gabriel and Ellie and I had to remind myself to slow down for them every once in a while, but the Pagans were catching up to us. "Hurry!" I shouted as I saw the two of them almost getting their heads chopped off. A girl in her early twenties, with long brunette hair and thin in the extremes tossed what seemed like a throwing knife towards Ellie.

A grunt escaped from Ellie's lips before she fell down. Gabriel stopped dead in his tracks to pick up Ellie. "Go!" Ellie shouted, shoving Gabriel towards me as she grabbed the knife and pulled it out of her calf. "I am not leaving you" Gabriel helped Ellie on her feet. I quickly ran back to them and picked up the throwing knife. With enough force, I tossed it back towards the girl and it lodged her right in the throat, slowing her down.

"Here" I tucked one hand under Ellie's knees and wrapped my other arm around her shoulder and she instinctively put her arm around my neck, her eyes grew wide at the sudden contact. "You will get yourself killed" she said in a low voice as I turned towards the Lockwood Cellar. "We are not leaving you behind" I looked her in the eyes before I picked up pace. Gabriel was right behind us.

"They are coming!" Gabriel shouted, making my heart pound loudly. I cannot protect them, but maybe I would not have to, we were just at the entrance of the Lockwood Cellar. We as dead beings could cross the boundary and hopefully once we do that the spell works for everyone and we all enter the world of the living, because no person living could cross the boundary. I quickly ran down the stairs and crossed the wooden door but the footsteps behind me had stopped. I turned to look at Gabriel who was standing on top of the stairs. "I will hold them back" he looked down at us. My brows creased together, "No! Get down here" I exclaimed.

"We will all die if they cross the boundary as dead beings" Gabriel told me. "I don't care, you cannot fight them alone" I told him, could he not just listen to me for once? "I am sorry" Gabriel said before he lifted his hand and the door separating us from him closed with a thud. "What was that?" I could hear Elena's voice, "Must be them" Damon spoke. "Gabriel!" I shouted angrily, "What is he doing?" Ellie wiggled out of my grip. I carefully placed her on the ground and tried to open the door.

"Gabriel! Open this door!" I launched myself sideways towards the door hitting it with a bang. "What are they doing?" Enzo spoke, "Wait, don't go outside" Elena replied. I looked out from the little window on the door but all I could see was Gabriel's back, "Gabriel!" I banged on the door but it was as if he could not hear me at all. I could see it clearly now that I moved to the extreme left of the window, Gabriel was being over powered by those mutts. One of them kicked him in the knees making him drop on his knees while the others held his hands all the while he tried to free himself.

"Ellie" I turned towards Ellie who was trying to get up with the help of the wall. "Let me get you inside" I told her, "I am not leaving you guys" she shook her head if only they would listen to me!

"C'mon!" I looked at what was going on outside and I saw the Pagans dragging Gabriel downstairs and on the other hand I could hear Bonnie about to complete her spell. This was it, even if the Pagans enter the boundary with Gabriel, they all would be brought back to life and we could all just kill those Pagans who entered.

I picked Ellie up once again and started walking towards the Cellar. As soon as I opened the iron door Elena jumped back a little. The wooden door behind me opened and I saw a bleeding Gabriel being dragged by two men and one woman who were pretty badly wounded themselves, it seems Gabriel managed to inflict a lot of pain before getting overpowered. I entered the Cellar and waited for them to follow us in. "C'mon" I looked at the Pagans, who gave me a sickening smile. "C'mon!" I shouted angrily. Gabriel looked at me his eyes half open. I put Ellie down and almost stepped out of the Cellar but Ellie caught my hand. "Don't!" she shook her head.

"Kaleb" Gabriel's voice was almost a whisper, and that was the last of what I saw of Gabriel. He disappeared from my view but the Pagans were still there. "Kaleb" Damon's voice startled me. I turned around, did it work? Could he see me? Damon's eyes widened but a smile appeared on his face. "It worked" Bonnie gave a small smile but I just looked back, I could not see Gabriel. How is it that the Pagans were brought back to life but not Gabriel?

"Where is he?" I shouted, jerking off Ellie's hand. "Dead" the girl I had stabbed in the throat spoke. I quickly stepped out of the Cellar. "No!" Ellie tried to get a hold of my hand but I was faster than any of them. "Kaleb!" Elena's voice made me stop for a split second before I launched myself towards the girl, snapping her neck in an instant, dropping her dead. I held the two men by their throat, one with each of my hands. "How is it that you three came back to life but not him?" I asked from between my teeth. "What is he talking about?" Bonnie asked, "His friend I suppose" Damon answered. "Let them go Kaleb, you will attract attention to yourself" Damon warned me but his warning fell on deaf ears.

A lump formed at the base of my throat. When one of the men chuckled at me I started tightening my grip on his neck until I could fell the veins pulsing blood under his skin, under his face reddened, until he started chocking and until I could see his eyes roll back and hear him take his last breath, I let go of him, as he dropped dead right next to me.

"How about you tell me now and I will give you a quick death?" I looked at the last Pagan I was holding. At first he refused to speak and I tightened my grip on his neck, his hands tried to move my hand away from his throat but in vain. "Helen was bringing us all back to life" the man looked scared for his life as he should be, I loosened the grip on his throat, "Proximity does not matter, she was channelling her power to all of us, seems like no one was doing that for your friend" he told me. He had to be inside the Cellar to come back to life. Did I just let Gabriel down?

I dragged him to a wall and held him by his face, my nails digging in his face, I could feel blood oozing out of his face and hear his deafening screams as my nails dug deeper, but I was on an emotional rollercoaster right now and I did not care about this man or the thousand pagans waiting outside. With all the force I had in my body – which was a lot now that I had all my vampire strength back – I pushed his head against the wall and felt his skull break under the force, I felt the blood oozing out of his skull. "Kaleb!" Enzo exclaimed, I turned around to see Elena hiding his face in the crook of Damon's neck, who had his hand wrapped around her waist. Enzo standing in front of Bonnie to block her view and Ellie looking away.

"Do me a favour" my voice was toneless while I looked at Damon, "Take her with you" I looked briefly at Ellie. "She is hurt, she cannot walk" I told him. Elena slowly looked at me, but she did not look angry, her eyes pitied me. "Where are you going?" she asked, "Home" I replied before turning around and away from all of them. They had a secret passage that would lead them out of the woods easily, without being spotted, that is if they are quick enough. I had to find a way to bring back my friend, who I had let down.

As I was about to leave the Cellar a realization stuck to me. Had I created more trouble for my friend by killing these Pagans right here? They had just gone back to the side of the dead, where they had beat the crap out of Gabriel. Had I made him an open target? My eyes widened at the realization.

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think of the story. Hit the follow and favourite button if you like the story. Keep reading**

 _ **-JT**_


	10. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

I was not having a hard time adjusting to the side of the living, although sometimes, I would forget for a moment that people could actually see me now. Ellie on the other hand was having a hard time adjusting here. She would enjoy spending most of her time indoors just to avoid people. Not that we had anything to do other than cook up a plan to save everyone, but she would just sit in her room in my house and not even come with me to Damon or Bonnie's house, until it was night.

"Ellie" I called for her when I came back from Bonnie's house. She was helping us track down the Pagans, but we were not successful up till now. Ellie did not reply, "Ellie?" I raised my voice. I could see a pair of legs on the floor hidden behind the archway of the living room. "Ellie?" my voice softened as I walked towards the living room. My heart dropped to my stomach when I saw Ellie lying on the floor, but more so when I saw a familiar face sitting on the couch. "I was dying to see you" Helen smirked, my eyes widened in horror. She was wearing a pale pink pleated V neck long dress, she got up and her heels clicked against the hardwood floor. "You were able to get out of there after all" Helen's blue eyes looked at me from head to toe as she crossed the living room to stand in front of me.

"How?" she sighed and lifted her hand to touch my face but I caught her wrist inches away from my face. "What did you do to her?" I looked at Ellie, my grip tightened around her wrist. "She is fine, just sleeping" Helen gave me an assuring smile. "Now that I have looked at you up close, I see how handsome you are" her words made me chuckle. "Why are you so keen on protecting the Salvatore girl? You can be with us" she asked me, "I am sorry, do I look like a dog you can put a leash on?" I asked tossing her hand away. Helen chuckled and tucked a lock on her red hair behind her ear. "You are something else, you aren't even scared of me, I can kill you right now" her voice was non-threatening. I would be lying if I said that I was not scared.

"I can kill you too, I have done it before" I reminded her, "With evergreen stake, do you have it on you right now?" she asked me, I decided to remain quiet, it was true, I did not have it right now. "That's what I thought" Helen circled around me and stopped right behind me, I looked over my shoulder at her. Her hand touched my right shoulder and moved down to my forearm, it sent shivers down my spine, I did not like the sensation.

I turned around and held her by her throat and super sped against a wall. Helen laughed under my grasp. "Don't touch me" I warned her, baring my fangs. "You are not going to win this" her words made me tighten my grasp. "Let me tell you something" she started and all of a sudden, the grasp I had on her throat loosened, even though I did not want it to. "From now on, every time you are going to be near us, your supernatural abilities would not work, not just yours but your whole posse's, including the witch's daughter, all I needed was Ellie's blood and to touch you" as soon as she completed, she held my hand and threw it away.

I tried to bare my fangs at her, but it was as if all my vampire abilities were dormant. "We are weak, but you would not have any upper hand either, I think it is only fair" Helen placed her hand on my chest and pushed me back, giving her the space to walk away. "Don't get in our way, I would hate to kill you twice" Helen looked over her shoulder before walking out the front door.

It was as if I could breath again once she was out of the door. I rushed to Ellie's side who suddenly woke up as soon as Helen was out of the door. I could see a cut on her wrist, that must have been where Helen got Ellie's blood. "Kaleb?" Ellie asked, puzzled, I sat down next to her and wrapped my arms around her shoulder, pulling her close to myself. "You are okay, right?" I asked, her body froze under my touch, "Yes" her voice was almost inaudible. "Good" I could not loose another friend.

"What does she mean by that?" Damon's brows creased together. Ellie and I were sitting in Damon's living room with Elena and Damon. "I felt powerless with her around" I told Damon. "How are any of us going to do anything now?" Elena asked, holding Damon's hand, who looked at her and gave her hand a light squeeze. "We can still protect Lily, and maybe – just maybe kill Helen" Ellie spoke, looking at me first then at Elena and finally towards Damon. "How?" I asked Ellie, "You don't need supernatural strength to protect her from someone as weak as the Pagans" Ellie started, "When we used to protect ourselves on the side of the dead, without our supernatural powers, it would be just the same" Ellie looked at me, "We will have better weapons and not just the blade, we can access evergreen wood as well" Ellie shrugged. "But I will have to be close to Lily and keep an eye on her" I told her, "And?" Ellie looked at me with a puzzled look. "She does not want me around" I replied, "That was when you were dead" Ellie threw her hands in the air dramatically.

"I don't think I can be near her" I mumbled, I did not want to see her with her boyfriend. "I don't want to create a mess for her" I looked at my hands. "I don't think she will appreciate it if I die again" I smirked, "You don't have to show your face to protect her" Ellie said, I looked at her with a puzzled glance. "Just cover you face and you are golden" Ellie shrugged. I looked at Damon, "That might work" he said slowly, "She would not know it is you till you keep your identity hidden" Damon nodded. "How am I supposed to hide my face?" I asked, everyone paused for a moment to think about it.

"Hoodie and a mouth mask" Elena answered, "Black, gloves too if you don't want her to look at any part of you and recognize you" Ellie added, pointing towards my daylight ring. I thought about it and said, "That might work". I can go see Lily after all. She would not recognize me, I can stay in the shadows and protect her. I just need to brush up on my fighting skills, I will have guns. I can easily kill these leeches until I am able to reach Helen and finish her off as well.

"I think I will go meet Lily" I said after a while with a smile on my face. "Do you have evergreen bullets?" I looked at Damon, "We had been preparing some since you have told us about them coming back" Damon replied, "C'mon" he got up and I copied his actions. "Stay here" I instructed Ellie who nodded before I followed Damon to the garage basement.

"Here" he opened a wooden chest trunk and there were guns and boxes of bullets inside. "Can I ask you something?" Damon started, I picked up a gun and then looked at Damon, "Sure" I replied looking back at the gun. "What is up with you and Ellie?" he asked, "Nothing" I shook my head, my brows creased together. "The way she looks at you" Damon started, "I don't like her that way" I interrupted. "She does" he shrugged, "No, she still has a boyfriend she wants to avenge" I told him. It was awkward enough to hear this let alone from the mouth of the father of the girl I love. "When did Lily last come home?" I asked Damon, changing the topic.

I took a box of bullet and shut the trunk and locked it. "She has not been home since she left" Damon sighed, "Not once?" I was shocked to say the least. "We have tried to drag her home but she would not come" Damon told me. "She believes that you might be lurking around here" Damon's serious look was replaced by a smirk. "I had better things to do" I joked, "Sure" Damon rolled his eyes. "Now that you are here, maybe you can bring her home" Damon was serious again, "She _needs_ to come home" he continued. Needs? Do they miss her so much? "Stefan has been in contact with her?" I asked Damon, Stefan had left for London to be with his Uncle Jeremy and study there. "Yes, but he is unable to convince her as well" Damon answered, that's strange she listens to him always – or at least she used to. "I will try to do what I can" I told Damon as we made our way back to the living room.

I had left Ellie with Elena and Damon since I was going to be gone for a while to meet Lily and after the little incident today I did not feel comfortable with leaving Ellie alone at my place.

I got ready to see Lily in the similar way I was advised. I wore a plain black t shirt over which I wore a plain black fitted hoodie jacket with a side zipper. I also wore a pair of black jeans along with black and white sneakers. I put on a pair of black half finger gloves that would be able to hide my daylight ring. I stood in front of the full-length mirror in my bathroom and pulled up the hoodie and lowered my head as I pulled the front of it to cover my eyes. Though I could see everything from under the hoodie, no one could see me. I did not want to wear a mouth mask yet, I was only going to do that if I had to get too close to Lily to the point where she could recognize me.

The college life was crazy at Whitmore College, but it was nothing new. People were drinking and having parties, or just enjoying the night while I lurked behind in the shadows. I wonder where Lily would be? Would she be with her boyfriend? It was past 10 O'clock, I just hope she is not with him right now. I decided to just check her room first. If she is not there, I might call Damon to get a location spell done on her to see where she is.

I could see the lights of her dorm room closed from where I stood. Her window was open though, I could easily get inside. I hope she is inside, alone, preferably sleeping since I don't know what I would do if she is awake.

I ran across the yard towards the tree that would get me close up to her window from where I could see if it would be okay to get in her room. I lunged forward and without using my hands I was able to climb the tree. There she was, lying on her back, sleeping peacefully, alone in the room, nothing about her had changed expect her hairstyle. I wonder where Olivia was? She still had her teddy bear with her, it made me chuckle looking at how she still held onto it while sleeping. I could have enjoyed the view from here but I decided to go in, after all, she was sleeping, it would not hurt to go in for a minute, right?

I jumped towards the window and landed perfectly inside without making a sound. I could feel my heart beating loudly now that I was standing so close to her, I could touch her and she would feel that, _I_ could feel it when I touch her. Her gorgeous face invited me in and I walked closer. I was so scared to wake her up that I was even hypervigilant of my own breathing. I lifted my hand and without a second thought I moved forward to stroke her cheek with the back of my index finger softly.

My heart skipped a beat, it was just as I had remembered, her warmth, her skin. I could not believe it that I could feel her. My breath was stuck in my throat when she inched closer towards me. It took every ounce of courage in me to not wake her up right now and tell her that I was here, that I was back. It took every ounce of self-control in me to not just hold her in my arms and tell her how much I love her still.

I was thrown back into reality when she moved and then opened her eyes. My eyes grew wide in fear as I pulled back my hand and pulled down my down closer to my face, and I turned around. "Kaleb?" she called out, I stopped dead in my tracks, did she saw me? Should I turn around? "Is that you?" her voice was almost a whisper, as if she was still not fully awake. She had not seen me, right? "Who are you?" her voice was more alert now, so she has not really seen me. Before she could make another move, I darted towards her window and jumped out, landing perfectly on my feet, I made a run towards the alley around the dormitories.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think of the story. Hit the follow and favourite button if you like the story. Keep reading**

 _ **-JT**_


	11. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

"Hello Kaleb" he stood there right in front of me, my mouth hung open. How could he possibly be here? How was he able to get out? I had so many questions, but the words were stuck in my throat. "Gabriel" I finally whispered, and his lips broke into a smile. He took quick steps towards me and opened his arms wide and wrapped it around my shoulders and slapped my back. I held him at an arm's distance. "How did you get here?" I asked him, "It was very hard, but I got out" Gabriel smirked, getting out of my grip and walking inside the house.

I shut the door behind me and walked inside behind him. "I had to find Josh and convince him to get me out of there" Gabriel told me. "How did you manage to stay alive when I killed those Pagans after coming back to life?" I asked him, "I was scared about it for a second but as soon as he crossed back to the side of the dead, it was clear that they could not get a hold of anything for a few minutes, I took that time to kill them off" Gabriel told me serious.

I was still not sure if I was dreaming or if this was real. All this seemed surreal to me. "I am real" Gabriel told me as if he could read my mind. "Since I am here, let me help you now, I have seen you struggle for past 6 months now" Gabriel started, "and honestly, it caused me actual physical pain to see you struggle like that" I rolled my eyes at his sarcasm. "Where is Ellie?" Gabriel asked me and just then we heard it. "I cannot believe it" I turned to my right and saw Ellie standing on the edge of the staircase.

Her face broke into a smile as she ran up to Gabriel, she jumped up in his arms and they both chuckled. "You got out!" she got out of his grip, "Yeah" Gabriel sighed. "Now that the three of us have reunited, we will save your girl" Ellie told me, and Gabriel nodded. It was a relief to see Gabriel alive, for the past 6 months I have been blaming myself for getting Gabriel killed. This time I would not let anyone get hurt, and end this with the Pagans and Helen.

"How are we supposed to keep an eye on Lily all the time?" Elena spoke, "She would not like it, and besides it is impossible to track her with the Pagans near her" Damon and Elena along with Bonnie had visited us at my place. "Just call her back home" Ellie shook her head, "It will be so much easier to protect her that way" she was right. "We have tried everything, she does not even come for holidays" Damon looked extremely heartbroken, which was understandable, given that he does not get to see either of his children as often as he likes. "C'mon, we do not need magic to keep an eye on Lily" Gabriel started. "We are in the 21st century, we can use the technology to our advantage" he looked at all of us.

When neither of us were still able to follow what he was saying, Gabriel said "We can get tracking device and all we need to do is make sure she has it on her everywhere she goes". It did sound like a good plan, especially than using magic and then getting cut off when we needed it the most. "But how will we get it to her?" Bonnie asked, "I will do it, tonight" I answered. Somewhere deep down all I needed was an excuse to meet Lily again, of course I would not talk to her but at least I could see her.

"Then let's get to work" Gabriel stated, he got up from his seat followed by Ellie. "You should get ready to go" he told me, and I nodded getting up from my seat. "How are we going to make sure that Lily has it all the time?" Damon asked me once Gabriel and Ellie left. "I can help with that" Bonnie got up as well, "I will ask Olivia to put in whichever bag Lily is carrying or whatever outfit she is wearing without her knowing" Bonnie shrugged, "But Olivia cannot know about me" I raised my brows. "We can just say that he is a hunter" Elena got up. "Hunter?" Damon raised his brows, "Someone you hired to kill Pagans" I nodded. "Would hunters do that?" Bonnie asked, "Yes, if you pay them well, I have seen people become hunters for various reasons, money is a good reason" I spoke, and it was as if Damon remembered something, he chuckled. "Let's do this then" Elena nodded slowly.

I was standing in a dark corner of Lily's dorm room, watching her shuffle in her bed. Was she having a bad dream? Was she awake? I was weighing my options of whether I should make a move and put the device in her bag or should I wait for a bit more. Truth be told, I was buying myself some time to be close to her. I do not get to see her as often as I like. ' _I should not push my luck_ ' I thought to myself, keeping my eyes on Lily, I walked across the room without making any noise and put the tracking device in her bag.

I lifted my head and looked out the window and what I saw made my heart drop to my stomach. At first all I could see was a woman with red hair walking in a black, mermaid hem maxi dress. But as soon as she looked up, I saw her face clearly. ' _Helen_ ' I thought, I immediately looked at Lily who seemed like she had finally drifted off to a peaceful sleep. I could already tell that I was reduced to mere human strengths.

I had to make a quick decision before Helen gets here. I walked up to Lily, looking over her and it was as if she had sensed someone standing right next to her, she opened her eyes. I pulled my hoodie down even though half my face was covered with a black mask. I put my hand on her mouth stopping her from screaming, but her muffled screams still escaped from her lips, as her eyes widened in fear. She tried to push my hand away, but in vain. "Hush" I whispered, "I am here to save you" my voice was deeper than my usual voice, quite different. I helped her sit up in her bed, "Helen is coming for you right now, quickly" she backed away from me, "Who are you?" she asked, "I am here to protect you" I took her hand and pulled her up, she fell right into my arms.

For a moment, my heart skipped a beat and I forgot all about Helen. I wanted to pull Lily closer, take off my mask and tell her I was here. I can be a little selfish and get whoever it is away from Lily. I can tell her how much I love her and ask her to stay with me forever. It took me a few nanoseconds to compose myself again to pull Lily behind me. "Quick" I instructed her, and she followed behind me. I opened her dorm room door with as little sound as possible and peaked out, the hallway was empty. "Let's go" I held Lily's hand by her wrist and made a run for it. Thankfully the lights in the hallway were dim since it was already late at night.

We ran down the staircase, all the while I tried to hear for any voices or look for anyone suspicious coming upstairs. It was strange that we were able to get out of Lily's room and head to the ground floor easily. Just as we turned towards the exit from the building, I saw Helen with two men standing in the doorway. I back away quickly, pulling Lily behind me. I gestured her to wait and peeped out from behind the wall we were hiding. My eyes widened in fear when I saw them coming our way. I saw a window on the ground floor level and moved my head slightly towards Lily, "Let's go" I told her. It was good that she was following me without putting on a fight right now.

I opened the window and said, "Go on", Lily looked at me, trying to look under my hoodie. "Go, unless you want to die" I pulled my hoodie down. Lily looked behind me and then outside the window, but thankfully, without another word she put one foot out and then another and slide from under the window. I looked behind myself and quickly made my way out of the window as well. Just as I had closed the window I saw three figures emerging from just around the corner. I pulled Lily down to the ground and near myself, putting a hand on her mouth as we sat as close to the building on the ground level.

I could hear Helen's heels clicking on the floorboard as he ascended the staircase. I gestured Lily to stay on the ground level and move "Go" I whispered, she got on her knees and elbows and crawled towards the main road, I copied her actions, staying right behind her. When we reached the corner of the building, she stopped abruptly. "There are more" she pushed me back.

I got up and gestured her to stay behind me. I peeped from the corner and saw two more men standing near the main exit of the building. "Let's go this way" I told her, helping her get up. We had to run across the yard towards the woods, if Helen or her minions looked out the window at the wrong time we would be easily caught, but if we did not move we would be caught either way. "Can you run?" I asked Lily, she nodded. "Go" I told her, she looked at me for a moment but then made a run towards the woods, I pulled out my phone and speed dialled Gabriel, walking behind Lily a few steps behind to keep my distance from her. "We are surrounded" I told him when he picked up the phone in one ring, "Where are you now?" he asked me, "Heading to the woods near her dorm" I told him, "Bring her home" I could hear Damon's panicked voice before I hanged up the call.

Once we were in the woods, I could feel my strength returning, which was a relief to say the least. "Who are you?" Lily backed away from me, "I told you, I am here to protect you" I replied, keeping my distance from her. "I am going to get you home" I told her. "No" she held her hand up, "I don't have time to deal with this" I tried to be harsh with her. "I am not going anywhere with you" she backed away. "Look here, we need to get out of here" I started, "and I will, just not with you" she cut me off. "You are not safe here, just go home" I told her, "I will but not with you" she insisted but I could not let her go off on her own.

I pulled out my phone again and called Damon. "Where are you? Are you bringing her home?" he asked me as soon as he picked up the call. "Looks like your daughter does not trust me" I tried to be as vague as possible. "What?" Damon sounded confused, "Yeah, talk to her" I said, holding out my phone for her. She looked at me with a puzzled look on her face before she reluctantly took the phone.

"Dad?" she spoke, "But I told you" she started to argue, "For the weekend? No!" she almost shouted, "You cannot drag me out of here!" I could tell it was not going her way. "I can protect myself" she argued but it looked like she was not winning the argument, for which I was glad, "Fine!" she spoke from between her teeth before ending the call and returning me my phone. I took it from her and put it back in the pocket of my jacket.

"Where to?" she asked me, sighing of frustration. I gestured with my head to follow me. It was a good thing that I had brought Ellie with me, now she can drive Lily home, while I go look back for Olivia. I led her through the back alley of her dorm towards Ellie's parked car. As soon as Ellie saw us walking towards the car she started the engine and straightened up.

I leaned down next to Ellie's window, "Take her to her father's home" I told her, and Ellie nodded. "What about you?" she asked me, "I have some business to attend to" I told her. I opened the back door for Lily and she reluctantly got inside. I shut the door and looked at Ellie, "Be careful" she gave me a nod and stepped on the gas, rushing down the road.

At least it was a relief the Lily was out of here. Now I can easily go look for Olivia and perhaps kill a few of those Pagans if they come in my way. It would be good to keep reducing their numbers, little by little.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **Please leave a review and let me know what you think of the story. Hit the follow and favourite button if you like the story. Keep reading**

 _ **-JT**_


	12. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Once I knew that Olivia was away from the dorm I called Bonnie immediately to locate her. "Find out where she is and ask her to leave immediately for home" I had told Bonnie, "Let me know when you locate her" I added. It was weekend and the dorms were empty as it is, kids were going back home, and it would be best if Lily and Olivia spent their weekends at home as well. I stayed out of the Pagans' view for the time being. Though one thing was clear, Helen did not like me interrupting her plan to meet Lily. I was not an idiot who was going to let Helen anywhere near Lily. She can kiss that dream goodbye.

I followed Olivia back to Mystic Falls. Hiding in the shadows, I waited for her to get inside. The door was opened by Enzo who quickly rushed her inside. I stepped out of the shadows and pulled away my face mask and removed my hoodie, I gave him a nod, he nodded back before I turned around and melted in the darkness, faster than his human eyes could register. I had to go see Lily and I had to know if she was okay and safe at home.

While standing right outside her home I could hear everything going inside. "Why did you ask a hunter to help you?" Lily's voice was accusing. "He is really good at what he does" Damon replied, "Yeah? Well, has he ever hunted a Pagan before? I know for a fact that only one person has been able to wipe them off" Lily's words made me chuckle, of course she did not think that this _hunter_ was good enough. "He has killed some of Helen's minions since we have asked him for his help" Elena told her, "It does not change the fact that he is sketchy, his whole face was covered" Lily argued, it seemed like she was arguing now just for the sake of arguing.

"He does not show himself" Damon's words were carefully measured, "Think of it as his work principle, he needs to maintain his anonymity" Damon continued, "He is doing this for money?" Lily asked, there was silence from the other side, I stood with my heart held tight, "Yes" Damon replied, and I let out a sigh of relief. Of course, the most common gain from hunting someone or something is monetary gain. "You are paying him to protect me? Or are you paying him to keep an eye on me?" Lily's tone was accusatory again. "All we want as your parents is to keep you safe, is that so wrong?" Elena asked, "Keep me safe but don't keep me caged" Lily shouted, "Caged? This is the first time you have come home since you went to college" Elena's voice shot up an octave higher. "Maybe you need to understand that I do not want to come back to this place and leave me alone!" I closed my eyes and shook my head. "Come back here!" Elena demanded, "Let her go" Damon's voice was calm. "We are her parents can we not tell her the truth?" Elena's voice was a whisper, but my heart skipped a beat. "He does not want us to and do you think it will change her now?" Damon reasoned. Why would it not? Oh right, the boyfriend.

I pulled out my phone and dialled Damon's number. "Come outside" I told him as I walked up on the front poach steps. I ended the call and kept my phone back inside my pocket and sighed waiting for Damon. The front door opened quietly, and Damon stepped out, shutting the door behind himself as softly as possible. "Is Olivia safe?" Damon asked me, "Yeah, I dropped her home" I told him. "Alright" Damon nodded, "Nice save back there" I told him, "You heard it?" he asked me, "a part of it" I nodded. "Look she did not ask many questions right now but she might, maybe not from you or Elena but from someone" I sighed, "We need to be prepared" Damon agreed, "Yes" I nodded. "Tomorrow morning Bonnie, Enzo, Elena and I will head over to your house we will discuss what we need to tell them" Damon said, "Alright" I looked down at my feet and looked back at Damon, "Call me if you need anything" I said, "Sure" he gave me his infamous smirk.

"Your girl sure is something else" Ellie remarked as the three of sat in the living room with a glass of bourbon, I scoffed. "I was so sure that I was going to let out our secret with the questions she was asking" Ellie shook her head, "You did not say anything stupid, did you?" I asked her, my eyes narrowed at her. "No" she shook her head. "So, she knows about the two of you?" Gabriel pointed towards us, "Why couldn't you have brought her home?" his brows creased together. "I had to find Olivia" I shrugged, "Your face is exposed to her, we should have hidden your face as well" Gabriel looked at Ellie, "It's not like she knows that I am his friend" Ellie pointed at me. "That's true, but you should keep your face hidden from Pagans because if they see you, they will tell Lily" Gabriel was right. "Those pain in the asses need to be gone" Ellie rolled her eyes, "True" Gabriel agreed. "Gabriel is it possible that we can break the spell that they have casted on us?" I asked him, straightening up in my place. "Well, we will need to find what spell it was exactly, Pagans use things like altars or some talisman to tie a spell, I am sure there is something that binds this spell" Gabriel told me, "So if we destroy that, we break the spell?" I asked him, "Yeah, I mean I have never seen anyone do that but that is what I have heard" Gabriel shrugged. "No one had ever killed them before, but I am going to do it the second time" I reminded him with a smirk, "Expect the guy I have asked to kill myself" Ellie pouted, "Yes, I remember" I held up my glass before taking a sip. Ellie wanted to kill the Pagan who had killed her boyfriend, I had promised her that no one would touch him except her.

I heard the main iron door of the property open. "Shush" I said, "What happened?" Gabriel asked inching towards me. "Someone is coming" I whispered, "Helen?" Ellie asked, looking towards the door. "No, I would not be able to hear this clearly if it were the Pagans" my brows were creased together. "Turn off the lights and hide" I instructed them, taking their glasses from their hands and hiding the glasses behind the bar counter and the whole house turned dark. I heard someone put a key in the front door lock and my heart stopped for a second, only three people have the key to this house, Sophia, Damon and myself. Damon would not come here with the keys, so was Sophia back?

I hid strategically to get a clear view of the intruder. The lock clicked, and the door opened slowly. The person standing in the doorway was not someone I had anticipated. Her intense blue eyes were filled with tears, her small lips quivering. She looked around the whole view in front of her, but my eyes never left her despairing face. She carefully stepped inside the house and I hid myself behind the wall I was hiding. I could hear her small sobs and her light footsteps. "Kaleb" she whispered, and I swear I felt as if my heart would escape from my ribcage. She walked right past the wall I was hiding behind, and I used my vampire abilities to hide in a better spot without making a sound. She stood near the staircase and looked behind herself as if waiting for someone to suddenly appear but when she heard no sound except maybe her own breathing she started ascending the stairs and I followed her quietly.

We found ourselves in my room. I was hiding right outside my room while she stood right in the middle of the room. The moonlight from the balcony door danced on her skin and made her hair shine. "Kaleb?" she whispered again, "I know you can reach out to me" she waited, "Are you mad at me?" she asked, how could I ever be mad at you? I wanted to chuckle. "I am sorry I did not come earlier" she broke into tears, "I am so sorry" she repeated again and again. I clenched my fists tightly and faced away from the room, closing my eyes. "I know you can hear me" her voice was almost inaudible because of her sobs. "I am mad at you too for leaving me" she shouted, I looked at her. She had her arms wrapped around herself, as she desperately tried to hold herself together. When she did not hear any reply from my end she dropped to her knees and let out and anguished yell before she collapsed on the floor crying.

I don't have to hide this from her. She needs me right now, all I have to do is hold her tightly and tell her that I am here. I walked out of the shadows and took a few steps towards Lily. Watching her cry made my heart break into millions of pieces. "Are you keeping your promise to stay away?" she asked from between her sobs, making me stop dead in my tracks. "If you want to keep that promise, keep it properly" she urged, and it was like someone had pushed me back into reality, what was I going to do? Damon was right, this is not going to make her any happier. I know for a fact that it would make her life more complicated. I hid myself again right outside the door of my room. "I guess you are not even here" she wiped her tears away and slowly got up.

Without any noise I walked past my room and hid in the darkest part of the hallway where Lily would not be able to see me. "Why did I even bother?" I heard her whisper as she shuffled out of my room, closing the door behind her with a loud thud. I stayed still in my place while she made her way out of the house, locking the main door in her wake.

I do not know for how long I stood in the dark after she had left but I only moved when my phone vibrated. At first, I weighed the option of letting it go to the voicemail, but reluctantly I pulled the phone out. It was Damon, I answered the call. "Lily does not have the tracker on her right now, does she?" he asked me, "She came here" I replied in a monotonously. "She was at your house?" Damon asked, "Yes, she had just left" I told him. "I will make sure that she reaches home safely" I added before hanging up.

As I made my way across the hallway, Ellie and Gabriel stood in my way. "I will follow her" Ellie proposed, "It's alright" I shook my head, "Let her go" Gabriel put his hand on my shoulder. I thought about it for a second, maybe it was best if I did not follow her right now, who knows I might reveal myself and who knows who that might turn out to be. "Okay" I nodded, and Gabriel dropped his hand, and Ellie took off as fast as she could.

"Are you okay?" Gabriel asked me once Ellie was gone. "We need to make sure she does not come back here again" I looked away, "You know how unsafe this house is" I added. "We'll do something about that" Gabriel replied, "Let me know when Ellie comes back" I clenched my teeth together, holding in my tears. I cleared my throat and shuffled across the hallway to my room.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **Please leave a review and let me know how did you like the chapter. Thank you for reading!**

 _ **-JT**_


	13. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

I opened the front door of my house to see my guests standing, none of them with a smile on their faces. "So, it's going to be one of _those_ days" I mumbled before stepping out of their way, giving them space to enter. I shut the door and followed them into the living room where Ellie and Gabriel had already made themselves comfortable. The four of them settled on the couch and I sat beside Ellie, my fingers steepled together, elbows resting on my thighs. "Before we discuss about the background story, I want to give you something" I started; straightening up, I pulled a thin, small black velvet box from the inside pocket of my beige jacket and handed it to Elena, who gave me a puzzled glance before opening it. "Lily obviously hates the idea of a hunter following her, if she found out about a tracking device she would flip" I continued, "So that necklace" I pointed towards the box and everyone's eyes turned towards it, "has a tracking device, which she can switch on and off anytime she wants; just tell her to press the button on the back side of the stone only when she is in danger" I completed. It was a rose gold pendant with a black diamond held delicately in circular shape, on the flip side of the black diamond was a miniature tracking device button, between the diamond and the button was the actual tracking device that was hidden. The pendant was in a thin rose gold chain. "I will go to her dorm tonight and remove the tracking device from her bag" I added, "Where did you find this?" Enzo asked me, "We made it" I pointed back and forth between Gabriel, Ellie and myself. "We are working on something for Olivia as well" Ellie looked at Enzo and Bonnie who exchanged glances before giving us a warm smile.

"Thank you, Kaleb, Ellie and Gabriel," Elena closed the lid of the box and looked at us with warm glances. While Ellie smiled back, Gabriel nodded with a small smile and I sighed and gave her a small smile. "On to the next topic" I spoke after a pause, "What is going to be the background story of the hunter you hired?" my palm faced upward as I pointed towards Elena and Damon and then sunk back into the couch, my arms folded in front of my chest. "We have to come up with a name first, that is probably one of the first thing she will question" Bonnie pointed out, all eyes turned towards me. "Am I supposed to come up with a name?" I asked no one in particular, Damon shrugged. "Carter" I came up with a name after a long pause. "Alright" Damon nodded with a smirk. "How did you find me?" I asked Damon, "We are more than 200 years old and when you live that long, you tend to have many connections as you might already know" Damon looked at Enzo and then at me before he shrugged. "Alright, so I was one of your connections" I nodded, "What exactly have you assigned me for?" I questioned, "Protecting Lily and killing the Pagans" Elena answered, "Okay" I ran my hand through my hair.

The meeting was over after we had discussed all the important questions that Lily could possibly ask from Damon and Elena or Bonnie or Enzo. We had decided to keep my identity a secret from Olivia as well for the time being, given that it might be hard for her to lie to Lily for whatever reason, since they are with each other all the time. Damon, Enzo and Bonnie walked out of the house before Elena who stopped at the doorstep and once the three of them were out of earshot, she turned towards me. "Kaleb, Lily came here last night?" her brows were knitted together, I nodded and looked down at my feet. "Is it wise for you both to suffer this way?" she sounded concerned just like a mother would, "She had suppressed her feelings for so long which came rushing back once she came back to Mystic Falls, she will get better with time" I assured Elena looking into her eyes, "I doubt that very much, and what about you?" she questioned, "I hope you know this that the chances of me making it out alive after killing Helen are slim, I am not holding onto false optimism anymore" I told her. Elena held my left forearm and said, "Just because you believe you are going to end up dying does not mean you live the rest of your days suffering, it is not fair". "Life is not fair, I do not want to cause Lily the pain I have caused her once all over again, she has finally moved on" I kept my right hand on her hand. "Moved on?" she questioned, "She is seeing someone" I was a little taken aback by her surprise. "Did you see her with someone?" she asked me, just how much was Lily keeping from Elena and Damon?

"No, but she told me, do you not know anything about this?" I asked her, and she shook her head, her brows creased together as we dropped our hands. "I wonder who this guy is" I mumbled, "Should I ask her?" Elena's voice was low. "No" I replied immediately, "Maybe Olivia but not Lily, I heard how mad she was when she came home" I added. "It seems as if her behaviour changed a lot since she has stepped out of the house" I mumbled, "You have no idea" Elena's chuckle gave me a feeling of some dark humour hidden behind it. "I will let you know if I find something" she said, "Thank you for this, really" she lifted the black velvet box a little. "I am just making sure Lily stays protected" I gave her an assuring smile before she walked away. I shut the front door behind her.

Gabriel, Ellie and I waited in the house till nightfall before Ellie and I decided to head out to Lily's dorm to get the tracking device from her bag. She would perhaps be going back tomorrow evening, and we also had to make sure that no Pagans were camping out near or around her dorm. Gabriel was going to stay in Mystic Falls and look out for Lily, for the rest of the night I was going to be stationed outside her house once I came back.

Ellie and I easily got inside Lily and Olivia's dorm room and I pulled out the tracking device from her bag while Ellie stood near the window next to Lily's bed. I kept the tracking device in the inside pocket of my beige jacket and turned to Ellie. "Let's go" I told her and as she turned around, she knocked something over from her bedside. "Sorry" she whispered and bent down to pick up what sounded like a bottle of tablets. I waited for her to keep it back on the nightstand, but she looked at it up closely, and her reaction made me uncomfortable. "What is it?" I asked her, "Why is your girl taking antidepressants?" she asked me with a puzzled look on her face and handed me the bottle. I quickly took it from her hand and scanned the bottle myself.

Ellie was right, it was antidepressant pills. But why was Lily taking these? I opened the bottle to find it almost half empty and I quickly closed it. Could it be Olivia's? No, that does not make sense, why would she have her medications on Lily's nightstand? "Hold on" I said and walked over to her nightstand, I felt uneasy with these pills in my hand, as if there was something more to it than just being a treatment for depression that she possible is suffering from after my death. I kept the pills back on her nightstand and opened the first drawer of the nightstand to find another bottle of pills, but these were antipsychotic drugs. "What is this?" I clenched my teeth together and closed the drawer with a loud thud. "What was that?" Ellie asked looking over my shoulder, "Antipsychotic drugs" I sighed, looking away, my hands in tight fists. "Let's get out of here before we get caught" Ellie took my right hand in her hand and pulled me near the window. Without a second thought, I jumped out of the window and landed perfectly on my feet, Ellie followed me closely behind.

"Kaleb" Ellie called after me as I started to walk away from the dorm building. "What are you going to do?" she asked me, catching up with my speed. "I am going to ask Damon what is wrong with Lily" I told her, "As if! You cannot barge into her house without revealing your identity" she told me, "I need to know what is wrong with her" I told her. "We have two hours' drive ahead of us, let us think about something more sensible" Ellie stood in front of me, stopping me dead in my tracks. I was too agitated to even sit in the car, let alone for two long hours. "Please Kaleb, you know all the reasons to keep your identity a secret, don't make me repeat it" Ellie sighed, "It might not be as serious as you think it is" she added, "It doesn't make it any less worrisome for me" I objected, "Yes, I know, she is the love of your life anything that happens to her makes you flip but you also need to protect her in the long run" she told me, "If we cannot come up with something in two hours, I am going in" I told her after a long pause. "Fine, let's just get in the car" Ellie shook her head and pointed with her head in the direction of the car.

I had asked her to drive back since I was on pins and needles with all the pessimistic thoughts running in my head about why Lily had those drugs in her possession? What made it worse was the thought that maybe Damon and Elena do not even know about these drugs since they have been clueless about her love life, who knows how much she has hidden from them after all? Ellie had come with a plan to call Damon and ask him to come to my house to talk where we would be able to talk more comfortably without being overheard, but that meant waiting till morning and I was not sure if I would be able to keep myself sane until then.

As we entered the boarder of Mystic Falls, a car caught our eye. It was flipped over near the woods, and I could see a girl lying inside the car, unconscious, hopefully not dead, covered in blood. Ellie stopped our car, "Oh my god!" she whispered, "I am going to call 911" she unbuckled her seatbelt and I did the same, I opened the car door and got out of the car. The girl was a thin, blonde, her whole face, neck and arms were covered in blood. I walked closer to the car and bent down to check if she was breathing. I could hear her heart beating very faintly. As soon as I got close enough the scent of blood hit me and I could feel my lips curling back over my teeth as I bared my fangs, I could see everything but the only thing that had my attention was the blood rushing out of her fresh wounds, I could hear everything but the only thing I cared about was her heart struggling to pump blood through out her body. I carefully unbuckled her seatbelt and tucked one hand under her neck and the other under her knees and pulled her out of the car.

"Don't move her, the ambulance is on its way" I heard Ellie's voice in a distance because her heartbeat occupied my whole attention. I placed her carefully on the ground and pulled my hands back. My hands were covered with her blood, and I could not stop myself from touching the index finger of my right hand to my lips and tasting the blood on my lips, my eyes closed and when I opened my eyes again I found myself being pulled closer to this girl, my fangs bare, ready to taste her blood. "Are you insane?" Ellie's voice brought me back from my trance as she pushed me back, standing between me and that girl. "Get out of my way" I spoke from between my teeth, without looking at Ellie as I tried to push her out of the way. "Kaleb! Stop!" Ellie held me by my shoulder, sitting in front of me. "Look at me" I could hear her words, but my eyes were fixed on the girl, a part of me told me to push Ellie out of the way, I knew I could do it easily and kill the girl, but the other side of me told me to let Ellie control my actions.

"Look here!" Ellie shook me, and I looked at her, I could see it in her eyes how scared she was, as she should be, I am stronger than her, I can easily cast her aside. "If you do this, you will kill an innocent girl" Ellie spoke, I knew that, but it would not be the first time and maybe I could just have a little taste and leave her be. "Get up" Ellie tried to pull me up and I complied to some extent though one side of me was cursing me to let go of this opportunity. "She is just as innocent as Lily" Ellie looked me in the eyes and spoke. I stopped struggling against her grip, "Just like you are protecting Lily, you can protect her" she continued, and I closed my eyes. Ellie was right, this girl was just in the wrong place at the wrong time but that does not mean I get to kill her. "Let's back off from her a little" Ellie pushed me back and I let her.

Once I was a good distance away from her, I could think more clearly. This girl did not have to die tonight, not at my hands. I looked away from her and tried to bring the animal instincts running wild in my head under control. I can be better than this, I don't have to hurt innocent people anymore. "Are you okay now?" Ellie asked me, I nodded my eyes still closed. Ellie slowly dropped her hands. The ambulance arrived shortly and once they took the girl; Ellie and I were on our way as well.

We got to my house, Ellie had told me to change my clothes since my sky-blue jeans, white shirt and beige jacket were all covered in blood. "Let's go I will drop you off and pick Gabriel up" Ellie told me once I had taken a shower and changed into my Carter outfit. "Where you scared of me?" I asked her, stopping her dead in her tracks, she looked in my eyes "A little" she mumbled before looking away, "Don't be" I told her. "I am not anymore" she assured me looking into my eyes from under her lashes, "Good" I smiled. I don't know for how long we stood like that in silence, Ellie looking up at me, a few inches away and I, looking down at her.

"Kaleb" her voice was almost inaudible, "Yes?" I could not look away from her. "Let's go" she broke the eye contact first, flushed as she looked at her hands. I looked away as well, "You don't have to come" I told her, taking the keys from her hands, my fingers brushed against her hands. "Lock the doors" I instructed her, "Alright" she mumbled as I made my way out of the house without looking away.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **Please leave a review and let me know how did you like the chapter. Thank you for reading!**

 _ **-JT**_


	14. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

I was casually lying on the couch with a novel – _The Picture of Dorian Gray_ in my hand, I had read this novel once before, a long time ago, almost 50 years ago. I had enjoyed it then and I was enjoying it just as much today, back then I had been a lot like Dorian Gray, relishing the temptations thrown my way because as a vampire I could – no matter what kind of temptations those were, I had relished all of them but today no matter hard I try to justify it, I could not, I had been at the wrong end of the deeds. Just when I was engulfed in my thoughts, I heard what I did not wanted to hear. The beeping sound came from my phone, this particular beeping sound meant that Lily had switched on the tracking device on her necklace.

I put the book aside and picked up my phone. I quickly opened my phone to see if maybe it was switched on by mistake. I looked at her location and to my horror, she was speeding off towards The Falls. I felt tightness in my chest and my mouth went dry. Getting up from the couch, I shouted "Gabriel!" I ran upstairs to my room, which took me hardly a few second. I quickly took off my shirt and rushed to my closet to get my black hoodie. Along with that, I put on my black face mask and black leather cut finger gloves. On top of my black hoodie, I had put on my black leather jacket. On my way out of my room, I picked up the pistol that Damon had given me but decided to take my blade with me as well.

I rushed downstairs where Gabriel and Ellie were waiting for me. "Lily is in danger, she just switched on the tracking device, let's go" I told them as I rushed out of the door, they both followed me hot on my heels. "Where is she now?" Gabriel asked me, "She is headed towards The Falls, Ellie go to Bonnie's house, make sure that Olivia is safe, let them know what is going on and Gabriel get Damon and Elena for back up, I am heading towards The Falls" I instructed, "You are going there alone?" Ellie questioned, "Yes, do not ask questions, just go" I told her sternly. Ellie flinched, and I instantly regretted being rude to her. It was not their fault, I was just too anxious. The thought that maybe Helen finally caught Lily made my stomach turn in knots. "I am sorry, just please go" I sighed and the two of them nodded. "Here" Gabriel handed me a black earpiece, "Keep in touch, let us know where they are exactly" he instructed. I took the earpiece and inserted it into the outer opening of my ear.

For me it was much easier to just run to the location than to drive. I was faster than any car, I could take shortcuts that no car can and while running I could keep a check on her location. My heart was beating fast as I rocketed over the thick logs under my feet, under the heavy branches and the dense forest that I recognize like the back of my hand. It was not difficult for me to find my way but what made this journey extremely anxious was the fact that Lily had reached the destination, given that her location was on a standstill. How long before Helen kills her? The thought made my feet move forward with a blinding speed.

As soon as I reached the exit of the woods, that would lead me to the cliff where they had apparently held Lily, I could feel the electrifying energy get drained from my body and all my supernatural strengths turning into mere human strengths. I pulled up my hoodie, covering my face completely and stepped out of the cover of the woods and onto the cliff. I could clearly see Pagans and quickly did a headcount, 15. My odds of getting Lily out of there weren't good, but I that did not mean that I was ready to give up. I pressed the button on my earpiece, "15 of them" I spoke in a whisper, "15?!" Gabriel was shocked to say the least, "On the cliff near the bridge" I told him my location, "Stay put" he instructed. Just then my eyes caught the sight of Lily. She was made to sit on the ground with her legs out stretched in front of her, secured together with a thick rope, just like her hands, they had tied a white cloth around her mouth to keep her quiet. She was glaring at the man who had dropped her on the ground, not a hint of fear on her face just anger. "What are you glaring at?" The man asked her, but Lily did not lower her eyes. "Look away now" he lowered himself to her eye level as he spoke but that did not make Lily lower her eyes.

The man chuckled and straightened up as he rolled his eyes but in a split second he lifted his right hand and with the back of his hand he struck Lily on her cheek harder than she could endure, making her gasp as she fell on her left side. Watching this unfold in front of my eyes made my blood boil and my eyes widened. I pulled out the pistol from the back of my jeans and without a second thought I aimed it towards the man and pulled the trigger. The air shattered, and the bullet tore through space and pierced through the man's heart, a red hole appeared in his chest and he fell on his knees. All the eyes turned towards me including Lily's. Two of the Pagans rushed to the man's aid who desiccated in front of my eyes.

"What are you looking at? Get him!" A woman shouted, her eyes widened in anger. With another deafening sound, the bullet ripped through the air and the bullet stuck the woman shouting the instructions between her eyebrows, her eyes rolled back as she fell on the ground. Within the first few minutes of chaos and utter confusion I was able to put bullets through the bodies of seven pagans. Given that they had always wanted Lily for a sacrifice to restore their magic and watching them struggle now made me confident that they could not use their magic much. "Stop!" A woman in her 20s shouted as she held Lily by her arm and pulled her up, using Lily as a shield. I pointed my gun towards the woman, but I could not get a clear shot at her, as she strategically positioned herself behind Lily. She pulled Lily with her, who struggled to walk given that her legs were tied. "I _will_ push her down this cliff into the water" she warned me as she pulled Lily near the end of the cliff. Lily struggled under her grip and her eyes widened in fear. I lowered my gun immediately and slowly put it down on the ground. "Push it towards us" She told me, I kicked the gun away from me and towards them.

"Good" the woman relaxed and smiled as she moved away from Lily, still holding Lily's arm. She looked towards the other Pagans, but before she could open her mouth to give any more instructions, I pulled out the blade from the back of my jeans and threw it towards the woman with as much force as I could gather with my human strength and it flew across the field, cutting through the air and impaled her in the stomach. Red fluid soaked her shirt in a few seconds and she let go of Lily's arm to hold the blade impaling her, blood covered her lips before she dropped on the ground.

Before I could react further, I saw the woman using the last ounce of her strength the hit Lily on her knees, making Lily loose her balance, her hands stretched out in front of her as if hoping someone would catch her and my hands immediately extended towards her, hoping that somehow I could run fast enough to catch her before the ground disappeared from under her feet, but my human strength was not enough and I heard her muffled scream as she disappeared from my view. My heart dropped to my stomach and a lump formed at the back of my throat as my eyes widened in fear.

Two men held me back from reaching the end of the cliff from where Lily had fallen a few seconds ago. I held on the man's hand and twisted it, dislocating his arm from the socket. The other man kicked me in the back of my knee making me fall on the ground, I turned around and held his leg, with a sharp jerk he was on the ground too. I used all the strength in my hand to punch the man in his knee and I heard the cracking of the bone. I got up but before I could reach the cliff a boy not young enough to be called a man punched me in the general abdomen area and though the punch was strong enough the push me a little back, it did not cause anything more than a slight discomfort. With a roundhouse kick to his false ribs area he was down for good.

When I reached the end of the cliff, I could see Lily's head disappearing under water, I pushed off my feet of the ground and head first dived into the water. I was piercing through the air just as my bullets had but I was much slower or maybe it was the anxiety speaking since I was submerged by the water in a few seconds. I could see Lily's eyes closed and she was not putting up anymore fight, maybe because she had passed out, but this feeling was scary to watch her drown in the water further and further. I reached of to her and with one hand I pulled her closer to me kicked my feet to pull us both up.

Once we hit the surface of the water, I could easily drag Lily out with me. My first instinct after getting us both out of water was to remove the cloth around Lily's mouth, but she was lying on the ground, paler than I would like to see her. I put my finger on her neck to check her pulse but before I could touch her neck, her eyes opened wide, and she coughed, spitting out water. With one hand I pulled on my hoodie to hide my face and with the other I helped her turned to her side. With my right hand helping her turn of her side, I patted her back with my left hand. "What happened?" her voice was horse as she continued coughing, "You are alright" I spoke in a low voice, more to myself than to her.

I helped her untie her hands gently, while she sat on the ground still confused and scared. My hands moved to her legs as I untied the thick ropes. "Did you jump after me?" she asked me, "Yes" I mumbled, "Oh!" was all that she said. Her hands wrapped around herself as she shivered. I could see her skin was raw and red from where the ropes were tied too tight, it made my teeth clench in anger. I quickly took off my jacket, it was not wet since it was a water-resistant jacket, and it was warm enough. I put the jacket around Lily, whose eyes shot up at the gesture. I helped her put her arms through the sleeves of the jacket and wrapped her in it securely.

"Can you get up?" I asked her, for a moment Lily did not speak anything. She just looked at me and then as if she remembered something, she shook her head to put whatever thoughts were going in her head away. "Yes" Lily's voice was nothing more than a whisper. I got up first and offered her my hand, for a moment she considered my hand and then finally took it. I pulled her up to her feet and she tumbled backwards but before she could fall, I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her close. She landed perfectly in my embrace and I heard her take a sharp breath. My own heart betrayed me as I slowly wrapped my right hand around her shoulder, holding her in my embrace after so long. I looked down and I could see how shocked Lily was to be in my embrace, but then finally she closed her eyes and her face settled in an unreadable expression. I lifted my left hand to hold her closer to me, but I had to stop in midway when I heard shouts bring me back to reality.

"Lily!" from a distance I could hear Enzo's voice. They are here, they will find her. I dropped my hands and stepped back for a second I stood there, debating whether I should leave of stay before turning my back on Lily and disappearing swiftly in the woods.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **I request you all to please follow through the story of Lily and Kaleb and not leave it in the middle because I promise some new twists are coming your way. Thank you for your constant support, keep leaving your reviews and opinions, it makes my day to read those reviews. Thank you so much!**

 _ **-JT**_


	15. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

As I whizzed across the forest to Lily's location I was sure that something was wrong because even when I came close enough to her I did not feel my supernatural abilities being drained out of my body like it usually happens. It could not be that the Pagans had suddenly given us our powers back for a fair fight. I had to stop a good distance away from Lily's location and listen closely who was she with, but all I heard was one heartbeat, and the shuffling of one pair of feet; which confused me all the more.

As I walked up in front of Lily, my face covered completely, I kept my distance, only to find that she was indeed standing alone in the forest. Her Army Green short dress was very different from what I was accustomed to seeing her in. Clearly her dressing had changed in college, but this shift silhouette, cap sleeves dress with a deep square neckline revealed all her curves. The leaves under her tan boots crackled as she took a few steps towards me, in her left hand was the jacket I had left with her.

"You are Carter, right?" she asked me, "Why did you turn on your tracking device?" I ignored her question. "Because I wanted to meet you" Lily's words made my heart feel all warm and fuzzy something that I haven't felt in a long time. I had not realised that I was holding my breath until I sighed and closed my eyes lowering my head. Lily was safe, all she wanted was to meet me; no, she wanted to meet Carter. "Why?" my voice was a low mumble as I opened my eyes, Lily looked down at the ground and then extended the jacket towards me, her eyes were soft, but she looked unsure, I could not understand what was going on in her head. "I wanted to thank you" she spoke slowly, "Thank me?" I questioned. "For saving me" she nodded, ' _stupid girl! I would always save you. You don't need to thank me_ ' I thought. For a nanosecond, I was about to step towards her but then I realized that I could not do that, I cannot let her see who I am.

"You don't have to, I get paid for this" I lied smoothly. Lily seemed to be taken aback by my response, "I – I know" she hesitated and dropped her hand to her side, looking at her feet. "Do not turn your tracking device on unless you are in a real emergency" I told her sternly, she needs to understand why I gave her that pendent. She looked up and gave me a single nod, "I suppose you can find your way back?" I asked her even though I hated myself for doing this to her, I could see that she did not mean any harm and yet I was being cold to her. "I don't want you to report everything you find about me to my parents" Lily spoke after a long pause, "What?" I asked, puzzled at her words; "Since you are following me around, you might have or will find certain things about me, so I want you to stop telling my parents everything" she looked at the ground, did she mean the pills or her boyfriend? Because those are the two things I know about her. "I don't think that can happen, I get paid by them" I lied, "I can pay you as well" she said, I chuckled and shook my head. "It doesn't work that way with me, I don't double cross my clients" I shrugged.

"You should get back now" I pointed my head towards the path leading outside the woods. "Here" she extended the jacket towards me, "Keep it, I don't need it" I told her. I knew I would need to leave first in order to make her leave these woods; I just need to be away from her sight, I can watch her from afar. I slowly back away in the woods at a human pace, disappearing from her sight as I left her standing there alone.

She looked confused at first but then held the jacket close to herself and mumbled "What was I thinking?" before she started making her way out of the woods. I followed her close by without making a sound, just making sure that she reached to her car safely before I can walk away. Every now and then she would turn around as if to see if I was following her but when she could not find me she would continue walking, disappointed. All I wanted was for her to be safe, and maybe one day if I am able to stay alive after killing Helen, maybe then I can come back to Lily and tell her everything and apologize to her for not being able to come to her before. Maybe one day I would be able to hold her in my arms and maybe she will accept me as well, and as selfish as it may seem, maybe one day she might let her boyfriend go for me; after all we have history together. This is when I had made up my mind as I watched her walk away that from now on I will not just try to kill Helen, I will try to stay alive so that I can come back to Lily because I cannot live without her, I cannot be selfless and let her not now that I am around; I am selfish and selfishly I want her to choose me, over that guy or thousand other guys. I would not steal her away, but I will let her know that I am here, and I am waiting for her. If she chooses that guy over me, I would not steal her away, I will simply wait until she chooses me, but I will never give up on her.

I reached home and entered the living room but the front door behind me busted open and I felt my supernatural abilities fading away as I turned into a mere human. I could hear the clicking of heels before I saw her enter my house. She was wearing a burgundy wrap dress with a front slit that showed off her left leg up till her upper thigh, the deep V-neck dress showed off all her curves and her long wine-red curls bounced against her waist as she walked in with an evil smirk.

"You look different" she commented stopping right in front of me. I reached for the gun in the back of my jeans. "Please stop, human version of you is no match for me" as soon as the words escaped her lips, I felt the gun slipping from my hands and I saw it slide across the floor to the rear end of the living room. "I am just here to talk Kaleb or should I say – Carter" her words were carefully measured. I slowly took off my face mask and shoved it in the pocket of my jacket.

"The ones you left alive told me that it was you all in black trying to save Lily but I did not believe them after all how can you possibly find her since I deprived all of you of magic" she sounded impressed, "How about you tell me your little secret?" her lips were right next to my ear, the closeness was eerie. I turned my face slightly towards her and looked her in the eyes as I said, "How about you go to hell?" all the while my heart was pounding, knowing full well that she can kill me right now.

She chuckled throwing her head back and then looked at me. "Let's make a deal between the two of us" she whispered, stepping closer as she put her arm on my forearm. "I will kill Lilian, and everyone standing in my way; so why don't you save yourself and your two friends and join us, I will even let you kill Lily in the most boring and basic way you can think of" she rolled her eyes at the end. I clenched my teeth together as my blood boiled, I looked her in the eyes trying to control my urge to wrap my hand around her neck and choke her to death even if it meant dying myself. My hands were in a fist so tightly closed that I could feel my nails digging in my palms. "Relax" Helen's hand trailed down to my hand which I jerked off. "I knew you weren't going to say yes to that so I have an easier deal" she continued, "How about you keep letting Lily believe that you are just Carter and I will also keep your secret?" she asked.

Why would she do that? If anything, she should be exposing me to Lily right now. "If you tell Lily that you are alive how long before I send some minion over at her place pretending to be you and taking her away without letting you know where she is?" Helen shrugged, my mouth went dry and my hands relaxed, "Or if you tell Lily that you are alive I can just kill your friends" she added. "Why would you not tell her yourself?" I questioned, "Because she believes Carter is a human who has no idea how to kill me, she does not trust Carter which makes it easier for me, on the other hand if she knew it was you, it would change the whole story, wouldn't it?" Helen smiled. "And why would you tell me this?" I asked, "What would you do with this information?" she raised one of her eyebrow and when I could not answer, she smiled at my defeat.

"If only you weren't this handsome" Helen's hands trailed their way to my shoulders, leaving an unsettling sensation in its wake. Her lips captured mine ever so slightly, making my eyes grew wide in shock; I wanted to push her away, but I could not move physically. She smiled as she pulled back and whispered in my ear "If only you weren't in love with Lilian" before she turned around and her silver stilettos clicked against the hardwood floor as she walked out of the house, the front door closing behind her.

I could move again, and I felt the supernatural abilities in me returning with a rush as if the dam that has been holding it back had broken. In her wake, Helen had left me with spooky sensations everywhere she touched, it was hard to describe but it felt as if it was her energy which was too much for me to hold.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

P **lease leave your reviews and let me know your thoughts. I swear it would not take more than a minute and it would mean the world to me.**

 **Thanks**

 ** _-JT_**


	16. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

The next few weeks were suspiciously quiet. I was on the edge, waiting for something to go wrong, as it has always been. Now, I might sound a little cynical but c'mon, this is Mystic Falls, nothing really stays all rainbows and giggles for a long time, something or the other goes wrong. Much to my surprise (and discomfort), nothing went wrong; as a matter of fact, we had no Pagan activity at all. Which also meant that my contact with Lily was minimal. I would visit her often, mostly at night so that she does not interact with me and I can keep my secret but there have been a few times that we have interacted.

Her semester was ending today, which meant that Lily would have to come home tonight. She and Olivia were going to come home together though I would be keeping an eye on them from afar, as I always have. Damon and Elena had a different plan for Lily for her semester break. They were going to send her to New Orleans to Caroline, hoping that she would be more protected there while we handle the Pagan situation here. It was offered by Caroline, and I had offered to take her there myself. It was a debate at the beginning, but I reminded them that even with only human abilities, I would be much faster and stronger than them (no offense).

I had a task at my hand before I could take Lily to New Orleans. I had to call up Klaus because I had not told him that I am back from the dead. Ever since I came back, I have not felt as strong of a bond with him as I have had before. All I wanted to do was protect Lily and everything else became a second priority. But now, I had to go to New Orleans, I must explain them the situation, and why can my identity to her not be exposed. So, I waited for the time that night after accompanying Lily and Olivia home, when I knew that Elena and Damon would be breaking the news of sending Lily to New Orleans to her, to talk to Klaus.

I stood in the Balcony of my room, watching the moon rise above the horizon behind the clouds. I pulled out my phone from my pocket and scrolled through my contact list, stopping at Klaus. I was not scared, it was just uncomfortable. I did not know what questions would be thrown my way, how would I explain myself to him. I sighed and told myself to just do it, I was not doing anything wrong, I did not do anything wrong! I dialled his number and waited for him to pick up.

"Hello?" his thick British accent reminded me why I was intimidated by him. "Hello Klaus" I replied, there was silence on the other end. "How is this possible?" he was even more puzzled now. "Yes, I am alive" I told him, "How are you alive?" he questioned. "Exactly the way Pagans are, I am sure you have heard of that" I shifted my weight from one feet to another. "Have you just been –" I cut him off, "No, it's been a while" I sighed. "Seems like you forgot to call up" I could hear him smirk, "I had been caught up in hiding myself from Lily" I told him. "Hide yourself?" he questioned. "I am sure you have heard that Lily is coming to New Orleans" I spoke, "I guess I have heard something about that" Klaus replied. "Well, I will be accompanying her, but the problem is I have been warned by the Human Sacrificing Bitch not to expose my identity to her" I told him, "And how are you planning to achieve that?" he asked, "I have been doing that, hiding my face, changing my name, changing my background story; I would appreciate if you did not expose my real identity to Lily" I replied. "Why would I put Lilian in danger because of you?" Klaus asked, I nodded, of course he would not. "Just get her here, and then take care of the Pagans" he commanded, and I realized that I still felt compelled to do that, not in a way he had asked me before, but I was still intimidated. "Of course, I will" I told him, confused at why I still was ready to obey that, even though I would have done it regardless of him telling me to do it. Klaus hung up on me and I realized that I had held my breath which I finally let go.

It's always daunting talking to Niklaus Mikealson, but I guess this is how he lives up to his reputation.

I reached Lily's house in the dead of the night, I had my whole outfit to cover me from head to toe. The darkness inside the car was going to help me from getting exposed. The only thing that worried me was that Lily and I would have to spend a night in some motel and while I am sure I can keep my identity hidden, I was not sure that she would let it go that easily. It was going to take about eight hours to reach New Orleans by road, of course we could have opted for a flight, but I would not make it through the security check with the mask on my face, driving seemed like the only option for us.

After what seemed like ages the front door of Lily's house opened. My heart was in my mouth when I saw Lily stepping out of the house. Her long wavy hair lifted softly by the wind, her beautiful eyes fixated on the ground as she subtly bit her lower made it almost impossible for me to stop looking at her. I kept a tight grip on the steering wheel to keep myself seated. She looked up slowly and while I knew it was impossible for her human eyes to see me in the dark, my eyes could read every emotion being displayed on her gorgeous face. I looked away quickly and closed my eyes. I could not let my feeling get in the way of protecting Lily this time. I cannot afford another close encounter with Helen and her dogs because unlike last time, they have an upper hand. The door of the back seat opened which made me open my eyes. From the rear-view mirror, I saw Lily get inside the car. Damon put her duffle bag right next to her while he and Elena kissed Lily goodbye. Damon came up next to my window and spoke in a low voice "Keep her safe" his eyes were pleading, I gave him an assuring nod. I knew I only had to get her to New Orleans and then no Pagan, not even Helen can touch her.

I turned the key and the engine came to life. Slowly I drove out of the driveway as Lily waved goodbye to her parents. I could hear her heart beating loudly once her parents were out of sight. It was only natural that she was anxious, maybe even scared to be in a car with a stranger. I kept glancing at her through the rear-view mirror. She was looking out of the window, and it was times like these I wanted to ask her what was going on in her mind, but I decided to keep mum about it. She sighed but kept looking out of the window. The atmosphere in the car grew thicker with neither of us speaking. The silence was almost too much for me, I wondered if it was the same for her. I kept debating in my head about what can I say to her to end this torment that I was feeling by staying silent, but nothing came up in my mind.

"Carter" Lily's voice made my heart skip a beat, "Hm?" I responded without looking at her through the rear-view window because I knew she was looking my way. "Are we going to stop somewhere tonight?" she asked, "No, I need to put as many miles between them and us before the sun comes up" my voice was deeper than usual. "Won't you get sleepy?" she asked me, "No" I responded, and she went back to looking out of the window. I wanted to continue talking to her, but she did not bother to look my way again. "You can sleep whenever you want" I told her after a long while. "Okay" she mumbled, "Are you pissed?" I had to ask, "No, I am –" she did not complete, "What?" I asked looking at her through the rear-view mirror. "scared" she mumbled, she sounded ashamed of herself for admitting it. "Why? I believe I am dropping you off to your mother's best friend" I spoke, "I am not scared for myself" she shook her head, "For whom then?" I asked, "Those I am leaving behind" Lily sighed again and put her head against the seat and closed her eyes. "Nothing is going to happen to your family and friends" I assured her, "What about you and the girl who has been protecting me?" Lily's eyes remained closed, but her heart gave away what she was feeling when it started beating loudly again.

"We are good at what we are doing" I told her, we made it out of the world of the dead, which was far more difficult than what we have here. "Don't die" Lily mumbled, and her voice was heart-breaking. "No one is dying" I told her, "That's what he made me believe as well" Lily's voice made me look at her, but her eyes were closed, her hands wrapped around herself. Neither of us spoke after that and she drifted off to sleep faster than I expected. It seemed like she was dreaming about something, but it was hard to tell if it was a good dream or a bad dream. Her seat was reclined, so at least she seemed comfortable, but I did not want her to get cold.

I pulled up at a gas station after covering 45 miles. Without making too much noise I got out of the car and started filling in gas in the car. While that was happening, I walked around the car towards Lily and opened the car door as softly as possible. On the head rest of the seat in front of her hung a blanket that I had kept for her. I unfolded the blanket and gently placed in over Lily. As I tucked her in the blanket my hands froze, and I looked up. Lily's eyes were closed, her lips parted slightly; she looked the epitome of gorgeousness, but she had always looked that way. I guess what made it so difficult for me to pull back was the fact that once again we were so close yet so far. Why was this happening to us? I just wanted a break from all of this, just to be able to stay with Lily without thinking about anything or anyone except ourselves. I just wanted to let go and feel what it is like to love her without a sword hanging on our heads or someone trying to take her away from me all the time. Would it ever be possible for us in this life time? The idea made me frown.

I pulled myself together and straightened up, closing the door behind myself, I walked over to my side and once I had filled the tank with gas, we were on the road again. I did not want to stop for long periods of time, not that the Pagans would have any hint about us leaving but just in case, somehow, they figure it out, I wanted to put as much distance between them and us as I could.

When the dawn came upon us we had already covered more than half the distance. I heard Lily groan in the backseat as she pushed the blanket off her and slowly opened her eyes. "Morning" I couldn't help but smile at her puzzled expressions as she tried to remember where she was. "Morning" she mumbled, "How long has it been?" she asked, "6 hours, we are going to be stopping somewhere now" I replied, "Alright" she nodded, still not fully awake. It made me chuckle which earned me a puzzled glance from Lily.

I pulled up in the parking lot of a decent motel near Stockton, AL; the parking lot was full, I wondered if we would get a room here, but for the moment it was our only option for there were no hotels or motels for miles away. "I will get us checked in first, wait in the car" I instructed Lily. If she went with me, I could not risk her seeing my face. "Okay" she mumbled, now fully awake. "Do you have your gun?" I questioned, "Yes" she replied. "Good, keep the car doors locked" I gave my final instructions before I got out of the car and walked towards the motel. Once I was out of Lily's sight, I removed my face mask and my gloves and shoved them in the pocket of my hoodie.

I entered the motel reception and removed my hoodie. A middle-aged man was sitting on the reception desk. He had a round frame spectacles sitting on the bridge of his nose as he read a newspaper. As soon as he heard me enter the room he looked up and put down the newspaper. I walked up to him and he greeted me with a smile. "Welcome to Lodge in Motel" he spoke, "I need two rooms for the morning" I responded. "I am sorry sir, but we only have one room available at the moment" the man replied. I sighed, why can't things go according to my plan? "Are you sure there isn't anything you can do?" I asked politely, I mean I could compel him but that would not do any good if there is no room available. "I am sorry sir, but it is the busiest time of the year" the man responded politely. "Alright, then one room for the morning" I nodded.

I walked out to the car with my face mask and gloves still on. Lily unlocked the car doors as soon as she saw me. I opened her door, "I have a good news and a bad news" I started as I gave Lily the space to get out of the car. "The good news is we got a room" I shrugged, "and the bad news?" Lily enquired as I picked up her duffle bag. "We got only one room" I said after a pause. "Oh" was all she said, "Well, it's not like we have to sleep" Lily said after a long pause, making me stop abruptly.

"Let's go" she gestured for me to lead the way. She was fine with sharing a room with me? She has been surprising me ever since I have come back from the dead but up until now I believed that she had some sense of self preservation left, did she trust me so much to share a room? Not that I was complaining but I was supposed to be Carter for her, or did she know I was Kaleb? My eyes lingered on her face as my heart dropped to my stomach.

A/N: Hey Readers,

Please leave your reviews and let me know your thoughts. I swear it would not take more than a minute and it would mean the world to me.

Thanks

-JT


	17. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

I opened the room's door for Lily and made way for her to enter. Lily glanced at me, and I pulled my hoodie farther down, avoiding her gaze. She entered the room and I followed her close behind. The room had grey walls and light wooden floor. There was a welcoming queen size bed with plain white linens, 4 pillows. There were two brown, wooden side table on either of the bed with yellow lamps and a phone on the right nightstand. The bed had a rug under it covering most of the wooden floor. In front of the bed was a small flat screen tv underneath it was a T.V stand. On our left was a door, I presumed, leading to the bathroom; right next to it was the closet. The windows were adjacent to the main door and had white pencil pleated curtains. Near the main door was a circular black glass table and two black leather dining chairs. "The room is nice" Lily looked around, and finally settled on the bed. I locked the main door and placed Lily's duffle bag next to it on the floor.

"Do you want to go freshen up?" I asked her, "Yeah" Lily got up from the bed and walked towards me, making my heart skip a beat. She bent down to pick up her duffle bag and walked back to the bed. She placed herself between me and the duffle bag, her back towards to me. I understood that she needed some privacy, so I turned around. I sat down on one of the chairs, facing away from Lily. I heard her open the zipper of her duffle bag and pulling out something, I assumed, the toiletries. She then zipped the duffle bag and put it on the floor. "I will be back, you can rest on the bed" she mumbled before making her way to the bathroom. I quietly got up and slowly made my way to the bed. As soon as I laid down on the bed, I could feel my eyelids dropping. I hadn't realized until now how sleepy I was. Maybe if I could just take a ten minutes nap and wake up before Lily gets back.

I woke up with a start and sat up way too quickly, pulling up my hoodie. I cleared my throat and looked around to see Lily sitting on the chair with her legs folded, doing something on her phone. "How long have I been out?" I asked her in a low voice, my voice startled her, "A little more than three hours" she responded. My eyes widened, more than three hours? Did she see my face? I don't think she would be sitting her so normally if she had. "Why didn't you wake me up?" I asked her, "Well, you seemed tired" she told me putting her phone away. "We need to be on the road soon" I told her, "Relax, we are almost there" Lily rolled her eyes. "I can't until I get you there" I told her. "No one is following us" though I wanted to believe her, I needed this plan to work. On the other hand, the selfish side of me wanted to stay in this room with Lily. I can protect her if Helen sends some minions our way, can't I? I held onto the bedsheet as tightly as I could to stop myself from getting up and removing my mask to show Lily who I really was. "We can't stay here for long" I said from between my teeth. "Geez, alright Mr. Grumpy" Lily rolled her eyes, I sighed. I wish I could tell her what was going on in my mind.

"Look, we have a plan when we get you to New Orleans" I told her, "What is that?" Lily got up from the chair and came over to sat down next to me. I shifted to the opposite end of the bed. All of a sudden, my mind went blank and I was tongue-tied. "Uh" I started, closing my eyes to focus back on the plan. "Yes, we have to change your identity" I started slowly, "My identity?" she asked, her eyebrows raised. "Yes, you can no longer be Lilian Salvatore from this point on" I told her, with made her even more confused I suppose. "You will have to change your name, a name you will go by in New Orleans, a background story maybe and you will have to change your appearance, as different as we can be from your appearance right now" I tried to explain.

"Alright" Lily said slowly, "Do you have any name in your mind?" I asked her, she thought about it for a minute, looking away from me, "Malia" she replied in a low voice, "Last name?" I asked, "Walters" her wobbled voice took me by surprise. I could feel a lump forming at the back of my throat, she wanted to use my last name? I did not know whether I should be smiling right now or crying, but I did know that it was one of the least expected things I would hear today. "Malia Walters" I whispered more to myself, she looked at me and with a forced smile gave me a nod.

I sat there looking at her from under my hoodie for I don't know how long. I wondered right in this moment if she had really gotten over me. If she was really happy with this new guy. I had to snap out of it, otherwise I knew I would gave away my secret. "I have something the car for you, I will go get it" I got up from the bed. "Lock the door" I instructed her as I stepped out of the room.

I took a deep breath as I walked towards the car, my hands in my pocket after I had taken off my face mask. The sky above was gloomy and dark, as if it was crying just as Lily and I were on the inside. The wind was colder than it was when we came here this morning, the sudden drop in the temperature made it clear that no amount of pleading was going to stop it from pouring down on us mercilessly. I opened the car door and picked up a small travel bag that Ellie had given me for Lily. I believe there were clothes in there, some make-up, and whatever she believed was necessary for Lily to change her appearance.

I knocked on the door and it was like Lily was waiting on the other side of the door. She opened it with a yank, "Here" I handed her the bag and locked the door behind myself. "The girl I work with, packed this for you" I pointed towards the bag. "Is she your girlfriend?" Lily asked me out of blue, that wasn't like her at all. The question took me by surprise, Ellie? My girlfriend? "No, she is my friend" I couldn't help but smirk. "Alright" Lily seemed least bothered about my answer once she had opened the bag. "I _really_ like your friend" she chuckled, pulling out something. It was a box of hair colour, my eyes widened in fear. Was Lily going to colour her hair? "You don't have to use that" I told her in urgency, "But I want to" she told me, pouting. "Hold on, I am going to get ready" Lily squealed, skipping to the bathroom with the bag. Did she even understand the urgency of the situation? I was taken aback by her reaction. How in the world was she enjoying this?

I was too anxious to sit down, and I kept pacing back and forth, arguing with myself if I should knock on the bathroom door and ask Lily how long it was going to take? I decided against it, it has been so long since I had seen her properly smile. Much to my surprise she had turned temperamental. From what I have seen, even the slightest thing would tick her off, I wondered why? Was it because she was depressed? Was that why she was almost always irritated? Her personality had changed so much that it was hard to keep up sometimes.

The lock of the bathroom door finally clicked, and I turned around to see a very different woman walking out of the bathroom. To my amazement, I found this version of Lily just as beautiful. Her natural brunette hair colour mixed with a darker pink gave a very beautiful dark rose gold colour to her hair. She had added soft curls to her hair and parted her hair from the left side, making her bangs fall on her right eye. I could see more than usual make-up. She had a berry nude lip colour, her lashes looked longer. She was wearing a red dress, fitted till her waist and flowing down to her upper thighs, the sleeveless shoulders and deep boat neck exposed her hands and long neck. Along with that she wore knee length, wrinkled black boots. What caught my eye were the golden rings on her right hand, the rings on her little finger and ring finger were just slim bands, the one on the ring finger was shaped as two tightly twisted vines, there was another slim band as a midi ring on her ring finger, a slim band with crescent moon for her middle finger and a slim band with an infinity for her index finger, another midi ring, a plain slim band as a midi ring on index finger. The only thing I could recognize as old Lily was the tracking device necklace I had given her; the rest was Malia.

I was startled with my phone rang, "Excuse me" I said, turning around to pull out my phone. It was Gabriel, "Where are you?" he asked me as soon as I picked up the phone. "Stockton" I replied, "Is Lily with you?" he asked me, "Yes" I replied, "Well, don't respond, just listen" he started, "Okay" I replied, "Olivia has gone missing" Gabriel's words made my eyes widen. "She has not switched on her tracking device" he completed. "We are searching for her, I think the Pagans believe that they can lure out Lily if they kidnap Olivia" Gabriel said after a long pause, "Do not tell Lily about this" I could hear Bonnie's voice in the background, I was amazed by how strong she is. "Okay" I responded, "Get back as soon as possible" Gabriel told me, "I will" I said. Gabriel disconnected the call and with a sigh I turned around to face Lily who looked worried. "What is it?" she asked me, "They were just checking up on us" I lied smoothly, "We need to get out of here" I told her, "Alright" she said slowly. "Pack up everything, I am going to check us out" I pointed towards the door and she nodded.

It was so dark outside, almost as if twilight was upon us. The loud thunder signalled the rain to pour down any second now. I had to quickly check us out and get on the road. I was anxiously as the middle-aged receptionist took his own sweet time to check us out. Once he was done, I looked him in the eyes and leaned over the counter, "You never saw us here" his eyes were fixated on mine, "I never saw you here" "An elderly couple checked into room 203 this morning" I spoke each word clearly, "An elderly couple checked into room 203 this morning" he repeated. "Good" I smirked and straightened up, good thing that I could compel him to forget our existence altogether. When I stepped out of the reception to get Lily, the rain drops were falling down on the city lazily.

"Are you ready to go?" I asked Lily, who was sitting on the bed. "Yes" she nodded with a smile. "C'mon" I picked up her duffle bag and the now empty travel bag. The duffle bag suddenly felt heavier, and once again I had the same dreaded feeling of all my super abilities draining out of my body, leaving me utterly useless. My heart sped up at the realization that even after everything, Helen had caught up on us. Lily walked towards the main door, "Wait!" I said, she turned around, "They are here" I told her. Lily stepped away from the door, "How do you know?" she asked me, "Come here" I gestured her to step away from the door and towards me. She reluctantly walked towards me, "Take these and hide in the closet" I instructed her, giving her the bags; Lily nodded obediently.

Once she was inside the closet, I looked out the window strategically. For a moment I could see no one outside and wondered if I was mistake. But when a bunch full of Pagans startled me, I quickly stepped away from the window. "They are here, the car is still here" I heard one of them shouting and I mentally cursed myself for not taking a rental. I heard them knocking on the door of the room right next to ours and I darted towards the closet. I got inside and shut the door ever so quietly behind myself.

The closet was compact and dark or, so it felt at first. It extended further back than it seemed. I felt Lily standing only an inch or two away from me, facing towards me. "Are they –" Lily started, and we heard a knock on our door. I quickly covered her mouth and she tumbled towards me, I pulled her in front of me, my hand on her waist around her stomach, her back towards me as I pulled us into a farther darkest corner of the closet. I could feel her ragged breathing, and much to my surprise I felt my heartbeat rising. When I was about to remove my hand from her waist, we heard the room door open. Lily's hand held mine tightly and my hand tightened on her waist instinctively. "Check the bathroom" a female voice instructed, and soon enough the bathroom door opened and then it was shut close with a loud thud. "No one is in there" a male voice responded, "Check the closet" as soon as the words left her mouth, I could feel Lily tense up under my grip. I touched my cheek of her head as I prepared to pull her behind me to take the hit and then hopefully kill whoever it was. The door yanked open but whatever little light could enter the closet never touched us. The man did not even enter the closet and due to the dark he did not see us. "No, not here" he responded, leaving the closet door open. "Where are they?" the female sounded frustrated. "Let's check the upper floors" they moved out, locking the main door behind themselves.

For a moment both Lily and I stood in complete stillness. I, then released Lily from my grip and she quickly let go of my hand, flushed, I supposed. I slowly looked out of the closet to see the room empty. "Let's go" I told her, and Lily slowly stepped out the closet, holding the bags in her hand. I took the bags from her hand and went to check if it was clear for us to go. But there were still a lot of Pagans standing right outside our door. "We can't go from there" I told Lily. "There is a window in the bathroom" Lily told me, "Let's go" I guided her through the bathroom. The window was high up over the WC, I could climb it but what about Lily? "Let me first check" I stood on the toilet and looked out the window, it was pouring heavily outside now, and it was high up, but this seemed like the only way out. "I am going to go out first and help you down, okay?" I asked Lily who nodded. I opened the windows and swung one feet outside the window, sitting on the window frame. I threw our bags out and gave Lily a nod. She stood on the toilet, "Can you pull yourself up?" I asked her, and she nodded. "Okay" I nodded and swung my other leg out of the window before jumping out. I landed with my one knee touching the ground and one hand balancing me smoothly. I quickly got up, wiping my hands to my jeans and waited for Lily, I saw her pulling herself up and sitting on the window frame. I lifted my hands up to catch her and she lowered herself slowly.

Her hands were inches away from my shoulders, "You can jump, I will catch you" I told her, and she let go, landing in my arms, I held her tightly. I lowered her slowly to the ground and helped her stabilize on the ground.

"We need to run for the car, alright?" I told her, taking off my jacket. She nodded, I whipped the jacket in my hand over our head, covering us from the rain. Lily at first looked taken aback by the sudden gesture but then she quickly recomposes herself and picks up the bags, "Hold this" I ask her softly to hold the end of the jacket towards her, and I slowly take the bags from her with my now free hand. "Are you ready?" I ask her and she nods, I move closer towards her, making her gaze turn to my face. "Let's go" I instruct her and her she pushes her feet off the ground; I try to match my pace with her.

I look at her from the corner of my eye and even though my brain knew we were in the state of an emergency, it did not seem to perceive it properly. For right now, all I saw was Lily, her eyes focused on the path ahead of her as she held onto my forearm while we ran under my jacket towards the car. Everything else seemed to melt out of focus and all that which held my attention right now at this moment was this beautiful girl.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

P **lease leave your reviews and let me know your thoughts. I swear it would not take more than a minute and it would mean the world to me.**

 **Thanks**

 ** _-JT_**


	18. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17**

I helped Lily in the backseat of the car and closed the door behind her. As quickly as I could, I got into the driver's seat and dumped the jacket on the passenger's seat along with the bags. I quickly backed out of the parking lot and the further I moved away from the motel I could feel my super abilities coursing through my body again, making me feel at ease. "Are you okay?" I asked Lily once I was sure that we weren't being followed. "Yes, are you?" she asked me, I chose not to respond to it. Lily kept looking back, and I understood that she was looking if someone was following us. "They aren't following us, not yet" I told her, "How do you know?" she asked curiously. "I just do" I told her, it's not like I can explain her this. "Sit back and relax" I told her, and she settled down, going back to looking out of the window, watching the rain drops hit the window rhythmically. I went back to glancing over her through the rear-view mirror. I was so glad that I did not have to kill the Pagans, it would have been another task to bury their bodies by myself and I just was not feeling like it at the moment. I had different priorities at the moment.

"Can you give me my phone from my bag?" Lily asked me, without a word, I pulled out her phone from the side pocket of the duffle bag and handed it to her. "Thanks" she took it and settled back down on her seat. She was on the phone, dialling someone's number and I tried to look oblivious to it. The phone rang but no one picked up, "That's weird" Lily mumbled and dialled another number I suppose. This time the call was answered, "Aunt Bonnie" Lily spoke, making my eyes grew wider in fear. "Lily?" I could hear Bonnie's voice, "Where is Olivia?" Lily asked, "I cannot reach her" she continued. I waited for Bonnie's response but there was none. "Aunt Bonnie?" Lily asked after a long pause, "She is out with Enzo" Bonnie lied, "Training" she continued. "Well, please tell her to give me a call" Lily requested, "I will, are you okay?" Bonnie asked. "Yes, we are on the road again" Lily answered. "Good" Bonnie responded, "I will talk to you once we reach" Lily smiled, "I will wait" Bonnie's voice did not show any sign of distress, I don't know how she was holding up so well? Lily disconnected the call.

"Carter?" she turned towards me, "Yes?" I responded. "Where is Olivia?" she asked, "How would I know?" I lied. "I know Aunt Bonnie just lied to me, I know you know something" she said, "You are being paranoid" I told her. "Am I?" she challenged me, but I did not respond. "Stop the car!" Lily instructed me, I ignored her again. "Stop the car Carter!" she shouted, "I am not stopping this car until we reach New Orleans" I told her calmly. "What is going on?" she questioned, "Nothing" I lied again. "If you don't stop the car –" Lily started to threaten me. She was quicker than I had expected her to be, she took her duffle bag from the passenger's seat and pulled out her gun.

With trembling hand, the pointed the gun towards me, "Where is my best friend?" she asked me. It did not surprise me that she was willing to threaten me for her best friend, I knew how close they were. I wanted to tell her that a bullet or even all the bullets in the gun would not be enough to kill me. I remained calm, sighing, I continued to focus on the road ahead. Without taking much time Lily turned the direction of the gun, towards herself, making me hit the breaks immediately. Lily dropped the gun and got out of the car in the pouring rain. I got out of the car and walked towards her. "Get in the car" I told her, opening the door. "No!" she walked away from me, I caught her hand by her wrist and she jerked my hand off. "Tell me what happened to Olivia or we aren't leaving" she told me. I closed the door with a loud thud making Lily jump. "Lily please!" I pleaded, trying to remain calm but Lily stayed nonchalant.

"If I tell you, you need to promise me to still go with our plan" I finally gave in, "Tell me first" Lily pressed further, I could hear her heart picking up pace, I know she was anxious. "Olivia has been kidnapped" I told her in a low voice, Lily's eyes widened in horror, I could see tears pooling in her eyes, she stumbled only to hold herself up with the help of the car. My hands reached out to her, holding her by her shoulders. "Take me back" Lily pleaded, her voice wobbly. "No, we need to keep going" I reasoned with her. "No, you don't understand, she is in trouble, I need to help" Lily tried to hold back her tears. "Lily, if I take you back, we will need to look after you as well, we won't be able to focus only on Olivia like we have to" I told her. "I can be of help" she shook her head, "I know but right now you are going to be our biggest vulnerability" I spoke slowly. "I promise you, I am going to get your best friend back" I promised her before Lily broke down in tears. Without a second thought, I pulled herself closer to me and wrapped my arms around her shoulder. "I am going to find her, but we need to leave now" I told her, her hands rested on my waist as she tried to pull herself together.

I helped her back into the car wrapping my now dried jacket around Lily. I think I had done the right thing to tell her the truth. She understood the seriousness of the situation. "I am going to come back once you find Olivia and I am going to kill Helen myself" Lily told me, "I will help you" I promised her. I don't think hiding Lily now was going to work. Helen had crossed the line by kidnapping Olivia and there was no way that they are going to be safe now. It doesn't matter how many more they are in numbers as compared to us, we were going to kill them all.

New Orleans was sunny and bright just like I remembered it. The vibrant city had not changed a bit in all this time. Everything was just the way I remembered it and bringing Lily here made me relax. I know no one could touch her here not with Klaus here. I felt more confident as I pulled up to the deserted road where we were supposed to meet with Caroline. I saw her standing outside her car, her hands folded in front of her chest, as she waited for us. Once she saw our car, she eased up a little; from the rear-view mirror I saw Lily easing up as well.

I stopped near Caroline's car and got out of the car. I gave Caroline a nod who acknowledged it with a small smile, I walked to the other side of the car and opened the door of the car. Lily stepped out of the car and turned towards Caroline who broke into a huge smile. Lily ran up to her as Caroline opened her arms and wrapped her own arms around Caroline's waist. Caroline embraced her in a tight hug and kissed the top of her head. "I did not expect you to look _this_ different" Caroline chuckled, "You look beautiful" I heard Caroline compliment her as I took Lily's bag out of the car. Without interrupting them, I put Lily's bag in the backseat of Caroline's car. "Carter is it?" Caroline spoke, I turned towards her. "Thank you" she mumbled, and I gave her a nod.

As Caroline walked Lily to the passenger's seat, Lily glanced back. Her eyes searching for my face which she was unable to see. "Thank you" she mouthed, and I gave her a nod before she sat in the car and Caroline closed the door behind her. Caroline quickly got in the driver's seat and with a heavy heart I watched them leave. I knew she was going to be safe now, I could return to Mystic Falls, but I did not want to leave. One, this place was my home and I always wanted to bring Lily here and Two now that Lily was here I could not explore this place with her. I took off my face mask and removed my hoodie once they disappeared from my view. How frustrating!

I was on my way back when I received a call from Gabriel. "We have found her location" he told me, "Wait for me to get back" I requested, going faster than I was. "There is no time, we are going in, I will be sending you the location in case none of us make it out" Gabriel's words did not bring me any comfort. "Can't you just wait for me?" I shouted, "Kaleb, they are on the move, you are 8 hours away" Gabriel sighed, "Who all are going in?" I asked him, "Everyone" he replied. I hit my hand on the steering wheel, I cannot ask anyone to sit out and risk the rest of their chances of survival. "We will make it out alive" Gabriel tried to assure me. "Is everyone with you?" I asked him, "Yes, I will put you on speaker" Gabriel told me. "You are on" I heard him after a pause, "What's your plan?" I asked no one in particular. "We know the location, first we will survey it and then attack" Damon sounded confident, "You will have no strength or magic on your side and add to that less number of people" I told them the bitter truth. "That is why I am planning to find whatever it is they are tying us to" Bonnie replied, "Where is Olivia being held?" I asked them, "Some farmland right outside Mystic Falls" Gabriel replied. "What are the chances of you _all_ coming out alive?" I had to ask, there was silence on the other end, "Well?" I waited, "Slim" Damon replied.

"It's Olivia we are talking about Kaleb" Elena spoke slowly, "I know" I said from between my teeth. "Kill Helen if you get a clean shot" I told them after a long pause, "With pleasure" I could hear Damon smirk, that ought to end all our problems without a doubt. "We are also getting help from some of the witches from the Salvatore boarding school, that ought to surprise them" Enzo told me, "This can work" I nodded, "They might not be strong enough to help us with our plan through and through, but they can help us take some of them down" Bonnie joined. "Well, I will see you all when I reach Mystic Falls" I tried to remain positive before disconnecting the call.

Waiting is the worst part of it all. I was stuck in the car, feeling useless, unable to put myself to a better use. I could of course run back to Mystic Falls but if I encountered Pagans on my way back, outrunning them in a car has more chances of happening than outrunning them on foot. I was on pins and needles the whole way, thinking of reasons why _all_ of them would survive. After all, just by adding me to the list of fighters does not guarantee their survival, right? It would just give me peace to be beside them, but it does not guarantee anything, I would be just a petty human after all. I had been so lost in my own world that when my phone rang it made me jump. When Damon's name flashed on the screen my heart began beating faster and I immediately picked up the phone. "Damon?" I asked, "Just a little update" he started, and I waited with my heart in my mouth, "Take care of Lily" those four words made my heart drop to my stomach. "What do you mean?" I asked him, "There are at least fifty of them and we are pretty sure that Helen is in there as well, seems to me like a long shot that we will make it out alive" Damon told me, "Well then get out of there!" I shouted, frustrated at them, why are the planning to commit suicide? "Did you not hear me?" Damon asked me, "Helen is in there" he whisper shouted.

"I will kill her" I promised him, "We have a clean shot, and this will all end" he told me. "Damon don't be impulsive" I tried to reason with him. "Promise me that Lily will be taken care of" he ignored my pleas, "How will I tell her that I couldn't protect her parents?" I asked him, "We have to go now" he told me, "Damon! Damon!" I kept shouting as he hung up on me. "Damn it!" I shouted, clenching the steering wheel tightly as I hit the brakes. With a loud screeching sound, the car came to a halt. I got out of the car and just as I picked up my phone to leave for Mystic Falls on foot, I felt it. I felt them inching near me, as always, my abilities sweeping out of my body as I felt weaker and weaker. I saw two SUVs arriving head on with no intentions to stop whatsoever.

I quickly got inside my car and turned the engine on, hitting the gas, I turned the car 180 degree and headed in the opposite direction from Mystic Falls. As I watched the cars follow me from the rear-view mirror, I prepared my gun and put my blade on the passenger's seat within my reach. I reached for the bag under the Passenger's seat for the grenades we had prepared. Pressing on the gas, my car started putting more distance between us. If I can hit the brakes at the right time and aim properly, I can damage their tyres to stop their cars.

I looked at my navigation system and found a fork in the road at 900 meters; Perfect! As I inched closer to the fork, I started slowing down the car until I reached the fork, stopping the car right in the middle of the fork, I turned the car 90 degrees to the left to give me a clean shot of the cars. I waited for the cars to show up from the curve, my eyes fixated on the road, my heart in my mouth.

As soon as the first car showed up, I shot three bullets, the first hit the body of the car, the second hit the right tyre, and the third the left tyre, forcing the car to deviate from the road before it came to a halt. With the other car I did not have to do anything at all, it came around the curve at such a fast speed that it rammed straight into the first car.

Without any delay I took the road that would lead me to Mystic Falls as I watched the filthy Pagans in the car struggling to get out of the car. My final touch was to throw a grenade on the hood of the car to ignite fire.

Just as I touched the broader of Mystic Falls I received the much-awaited call but unfortunately the message what not what I had expected. "Come to the Hospital we need your blood" Ellie told me, "Who?" I could not even complete my sentence, "Only Gabriel and I made it out without major injuries" Ellie told me, "It's bad Kaleb, it's really bad" her voice already gave away that much, and I suddenly felt surrounded by an awful feeling of dread.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

P **lease leave your reviews and let me know your thoughts. I swear it would not take more than a minute and it would mean the world to me.**

 **Thanks**

 ** _-JT_**


	19. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

I rushed to the hospital, the emergency wing, just as I was about to ask about Damon, Elena, Bonnie, Enzo or Olivia, I spotted Ellie and Gabriel pacing up and down the hallway. "Ellie, Gabriel" I called them out as I ran up to them at normal human pace. "You are hurt too?" I looked at Gabriel who had stitches on his forehead and a bandage on his left hand, "Not as much as them" Gabriel pointed with his right hand towards the glass windows behind me. Slowly, I turned around to see Damon in one of the room, much to my horror covered in bandages, lying perfectly still. In the other room was Elena, who did not look as hurt as him, but she was lying down just as still as Damon, most of her face was covered in bruises just like her right hand. "Bonnie? Enzo? Olivia?" I asked with a pause after each of their name, Ellie pointed me towards down the hallway.

I saw Bonnie next, who did not look in as terrible shape, but she was unconscious as well, just like her husband. I walked further down the hallway to find Olivia and the horror I experienced by witnessing the four of them combined was nothing as compared to the horror I experienced when I saw Olivia. She had bruises all over her body, her head was covered in a bandage, and she was on a ventilator. "She has three broken ribs, one of it punctured her left lung" Ellie told me, I clenched a fist full of my hair from the back of my head. "I can fix her" I told them, "You can fix all of them" Ellie said, "Not Elena, or Damon or Enzo" I told her, "Why?" she asked me, "Because they have had the cure, their body would reject the vampire blood" Gabriel told me. "Well, fix Bonnie and Olivia" Ellie urged. "Get a doctor here, who is not on vervain and keep a watch" I told them with a sigh as I entered Olivia's room.

The beeping sound of the machine made me uneasy. I shut the blind completely closed and turned my attention to Olivia, she looked troubled even as she laid unconscious, I did not want to think about what had happened to her when she was held by the Pagans to leave such bruises and wounds all over her body. On her bedside, I found a syringe that could be used to inject my blood. I picked it up and without a second thought, I drew my blood from the crease of my elbow. Very gently, I injected my blood into Olivia's bloodstream. The door busted open and I saw a doctor enter the room with Ellie. "What are you doing?" the doctor said in an accusatory tone, I dropped the syringe on the bed side and super sped towards them. Holding the doctor by his shoulder, I looked into his grey eyes. "This young woman is going to wake up here in a few minutes, you are going to take her off the ventilator and remove that bandage" I instructed him, his focused eyes continued looking into my eyes as he spoke "I will take her off the ventilator and remove the bandage" "You will forget about it afterwards and delete her records from your hospital" "I will forget about it afterwards and delete her records from my hospital" he repeated.

In about a minute, we heard Olivia cough, signalling she was ready to be taken off the ventilator. The doctor did as he was told while Ellie and I watched the doctor do his work professionally. Olivia opened her eyes just in time as her bruises disappeared, leaving no mark on her body, not even a scar. The doctor took of her bandage, revealing absolutely nothing on her forehead, just as I expected. Olivia's eyes scanned the room and when her eyes landed on me, the look on her face was priceless. "Kaleb!" she breathed, as if not believing what she was seeing. "Am I dead?" her question made Ellie and me chuckle. "No, you are not" I told her. "Then are you – alive?" she looked confused but relieved, "Yes" I told her, "Lily? Does she know?" she asked me, even after everything, she was thinking about her best friend, how did their friendship work? "No, and she cannot" I shook my head, "Why?" she made it sound like I was being absurd. "I will explain you everything, I have to go help your mom" I told her. "Where is mom? And dad?" she asked me, "Stay here, I will come and get you" I told her, "But where are they?" she pressed further. "They are here, I am going to come back in a few minutes, alright?" I told her, and she nodded. "Stay with her" I instructed Ellie before taking the doctor with me.

Once we were inside Bonnie's room and away from everyone, I looked him in the eyes again and asked him a question. "How bad is it with the other three adults out of these five?" I asked him, "Mr. St John and Mrs. Salvatore will make a full recovery in no time, but Mr. Salvatore is going to take longer" he told me, "But he will make a full recovery, right?" I asked, "Yes, in 90% of the cases they do" the doctor told me. It was time for me to compel him to forget about Bonnie as well "This woman was not admitted in the hospital either, delete all her records" I instructed him, and he repeated it after me. "Forget that we ever had this conversation and leave" was my final instruction for him.

I attended to Bonnie in the same way as I attended to Olivia, but she came around a lot quicker than Olivia, given that her injuries were nearly as terrible as Olivia's. She sat up right as soon as my blood did its work. "Where is Olivia?" was her first question, "She is safe and healed in the next room" I told her, "Take me to her" she urged, "Alright" I nodded. I helped her out of the hospital bed and helped her out of the room. She stopped dead in her tracks as if remembering something, she suddenly turned to me. "I saw Enzo –" she couldn't even complete her sentence; her eyes were out of focus; pure horror crossed her face. "He is in that room, he is recovering well" I told her pointing towards the room on our right. "I need to see him" Bonnie turned around to walk in the direction of Enzo's room.

I decided to give her the privacy she needed with her husband, standing outside the room as she went inside. I knew she was a strong woman, stronger than any woman I knew, but she was also a woman in love. Though she would never in a million years cry in front of other people, she was just as scared to lose the love of her life as anyone would be and right now she deserved her privacy to feel whatever it was that she was feeling without the fear of others seeing her.

When Bonnie entered Olivia's room, that is when she let go of everything holding her back. She rushed up to her daughter and engulfed her in a loving embrace, as tears streamed down both of their faces. I gestured Ellie that it was time for us to leave and the two of us quietly made our exit.

"Do you want my blood to heal yourself?" I asked Gabriel, "No, I will be able to heal myself once we get home" he shook his head. "How did they all end up in the hospital?" I had to ask them, they exchanged glances. "We failed to kill Helen" Gabriel answered, "But you got out alive?" I asked, Helen wasn't the kind to let them go. "Whatever magic she had left was gone, _she_ had to leave to protect herself" Ellie told me. "What do you mean ' _gone_ '?" I asked, my brows creased together. "Pagans need sacrifices to gain their power, think of it as a phone battery. When they perform even the simplest of spell like opening the door for a grander entrance, that battery is being consumed. Unless they find a way to recharge it, it will exhaust. They exhausted most of their battery when they did the spell to come back to the world of the living, combine that with the spell they did to link us to the altar we found yesterday, that alone reduces their battery to 20%, they tortured Olivia, and inflicted injuries on the rest of us along with who knows countless other spells, it is bound to end" Gabriel explained it to me.

"You found what we are linked to?" I asked him, "Yes, there is an altar, old school really but they have something of ours, each of us need to get that back and destroy the rest of the altar, Bonnie and I can reverse the link once we have what is it of ours that they have" Gabriel replied. "What kind of things do they have?" I questioned, "Hair, clothes, blood, pieces of jewellery, anything that we have had exclusively for ourselves" Gabriel told me, "Whose blood?" I was shocked to say the least, "Mine" Ellie answered, "How do we get it back?" I asked, "We are working on it, it's a land mine in there" Gabriel replied, shaking his head. "How did Helen escape when she had no power left?" I asked after a long pause. "Did she ever kiss you?" Gabriel's question caught me off guard. How did he know? What does it have to do with her escaping? She had but not with my consent, I was literally frozen in my place. "Why?" I asked, "Oh, I don't know, she has linked herself to you with that kiss" Ellie answered sarcastically, "Do you think I let her kiss me willingly?" my nose wrinkled in disgust, "and what of it?" I asked. "If we had killed her, you would have died as well" Ellie threw her hands up in the air. "If you had a clear shot at her, you should have taken it!" I reasoned with her, eyes widened. How could they have let go of that opportunity?

"It was Damon's call" Gabriel told me, "Well, he makes stupid decisions sometimes, you knew that we had to kill Helen and end it" I told him, "His decision was right, we couldn't just let you be a martyr" Ellie clenched her jaw. "What about revenge? Have you forgotten that?" I spoke from between my teeth, trying to keep my voice down. "No! But we can have a way of breaking that link and _then_ killing Helen" Ellie argued, "We might not get another chance!" I told her. "God! You are so frustrating, always thinking you are right, we made our decision and we are happy with it" Ellie whisper shouted turning her back towards me. "It is _my_ life" I responded in the same tone, and she just scoffed, making me angrier, I clenched my fists. "Kaleb, we will get another chance" Gabriel told me calmly, "What if we don't?" I found myself shouting. "Well, we will, trust us" Gabriel remained calm. I sneered and without another word walked away from them.

Walking out of the hospital, the cold air hit my face, but it did nothing to calm me down. I felt like hitting something to calm myself down or hunt someone, to experience the thrill of the chase. I tried to distract myself from all those thoughts – anger, thirst, thrill. I had to be in absolute control to win this against Helen. Maybe Ellie and Gabriel were right, maybe we will get another chance; after all wasn't I also the one who did not want to die and survive this to be with Lily? Besides, what if it were someone else linked to Helen, would I have still killed Helen in the blink of an eye? What they did was only natural, it was unrealistic of me to expect them to carry out the plan of killing Helen with a problem this massive. We need to strategize again, without giving them a chance to catch us off guard again. This time it needs to be perfect, and when we get a chance this time, it needs to end for them all and end in a way that they can never return.

When I went back inside, the mood was sombre, Ellie was ignoring me the best she could, Gabriel was giving me funny looks, maybe he thought I was still angry, Olivia and Bonnie were trying to be as brave as they could. "We cannot tell Lily about all of this" Bonnie said, "I agree" I nodded, "What if she wants to talk to her parents?" Gabriel questioned, "We can ghost her for a few days, just let her know that we have Olivia back" I replied, "I will go and bring her back as soon as the three of them wake up" I added. "She will be pissed when she finds out" Olivia mumbled, "She will be reckless if she finds out right now, and if she plans to escape, no one in New Orleans would be able to keep her there" I said. "For now, let's just stick together and wait for them to wake up to get out of the hospital" Gabriel said, "Let's do that" Bonnie nodded.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

P **lease leave your reviews and let me know your thoughts. I swear it would not take more than a minute and it would mean the world to me.**

 **Thanks**

 ** _-JT_**


	20. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

As Damon, Elena and Enzo recovered at home after being discharged from the hospital, we decided that it would be best to tell Lily what had happened with them. Though I was not there to hear the conversation, I knew it for a fact that she would have not liked us keeping this a secret from her, after all she loved her family and friend more than her own life. I was correct, once Lily knew what had happened she insisted on coming back. She had said that she would come back no matter what, to take care of her parents, for she did not believe that _Carter_ and _his friend_ could take care of them. I had told Elena and Damon that I would bring her back, since we could not risk her coming to Mystic Falls alone.

So, I stood in the house I remembered too well, waiting for Lily. I had earned a lot of glances from people who could not recognize me in this outfit, people I had known for as long as I could remember. It gave me a strange sense of satisfaction, if they could not recognize me, there is no way Lily would. The only one whom I did not and could not fool was Klaus. I stood inches away from him, just as vigilant and intimidated as I always had. He was a force to be reckoned with and no matter how much I tried to behave like Carter with him, I could not. Klaus seemed to take my discomfort into account all too well, I could tell by the way he smirked looking at me from the corner of my eye. "I personally did not like losing such a strong fighter" he finally spoke, making my head turn in his direction. "I was hurt when you didn't tell me you have risen from the dead" he continued, now looking at me. "I was trying to protect Lily" I told him, "You are still intimidated by me, aren't you?" he narrowed his eyes at me, "Don't worry, I don't have the slightest interest in you, especially killing you, you are way past defying me" he walked up to me slowly. "If I had known you had _any_ interest in Lilian, I would have gouged your eye balls from their sockets and fed it to you with my bare hands before you could have laid your eyes on her" I knew his threats weren't empty. "I did not _choose_ to – fall in love with Lily" I mumbled, "Yes, you couldn't help it" he raised his eyebrows mocking me. I opened my mouth to respond but I closed it immediately when I heard footsteps approaching.

I had never seen Lily as upset as she looked now, her eyes evidently swollen from crying, that she had tried to hide with concealer. She was dressed in a high waist, plain navy blue, short pleated skirt, and a plain white fitted top, v neck and quarter sleeves, and white open toe pumps. On her right was Caroline, who held her hand, behind them was some guy I couldn't care less about holding Lily's duffle bag. Caroline stopped a foot and a half away from me while Lily stepped in closer. "How is – everyone?" her voice cracked at the end of the question, "They are fine now" I replied in a deep voice. "I will get your stuff in the car" I told her and walked past her, bowing my head slightly as I stood next to Caroline, I walked past her quickly as well. I took Lily's duffle bag from the what-was-his-name-again guy and without anything further walked out of the all too familiar house of Niklaus Mikealson.

I was eager to get off of Niklaus Mikealson's property and even more eager to get out of New Orleans – I even shocked myself, I had never thought I would even think this way, in a million years, about a place I have called home ever since I had been a vampire. It was foolish of me but one of the reason and a major one at that, why I wanted to be no where near Klaus was because even though it wasn't in my or anyone's control if I had fallen in love with Lily, I had still broken away from the compulsion, double crossed my creator; he doesn't let that go easily, especially now when I had not even informed him about my return and just stayed in Mystic Falls, after all he had lost a valuable solider. Another reason was that I had been naturally intimidated by my creator, he was the all-powerful Klaus after all, it would be foolish of me to underestimate him – ever. No one who had underestimated him had lived to tell gloat about their personal glory.

Once on the road, I took a sigh of relief. I was out of his clutches for now, if I somehow survive this, I will go up to Klaus and ask for his forgiveness. As for now, it would be best to stay out of this, stay out of New Orleans, stay as far away as possible.

When we stopped at a gas station, that is when Lily and I spoke for the first time ever since we had been on the road. She got out of the car and stretched her arms. "I am going to sit in the passenger's seat" she had said, "No, just sit in the back seat" I shook my head, "I feel suffocated at the back" she argued, opening the door of the passenger's seat, and swiftly got in. I rolled my eyes and paid for the gas before getting in the car and getting back on the road.

Lily had her one leg tucked behind her other leg, her knees pointed towards me. Her hand crossed in front of her chest as she looked straight ahead. I kept my hands tightly on the steering wheel, it was harder to look away from Lily now that she was sitting right beside me. I could see her trying to steal glances of my face – at least she was trying to, she couldn't see my face, obviously. "Why don't you just take off your mask? Isn't it suffocating?" she questioned, "No it's not" I replied, "Did you do something illegal that you have to hide your face?" she positioned her body towards me, her hands now resting in her lap. "No" I told her, "Then why do you hide your face?" she questioned, "Because my job requires it" I was trying to be as casual about it as I possibly could. "But if you are hired to pay supernatural beings and you do your job properly, wouldn't anyone anyway not know your face?" she questioned, when I did not respond she went ahead and said, "Maybe you are afraid you would fail at your job". "My job is not to kill, sometimes it is to protect someone, now I cannot kill someone I am supposed to protect, can I?" I questioned sharply, trying to scare her. "If I show you my face, it becomes my weakness, when someone doesn't know my face, they would not know who to look out for" I tried to be a little softer when I saw her eyes widened in fear. "I guess you are right" she shrugged as if not scared anymore.

"Are you worried about your parents?" I questioned after a long silence when I saw her leg shaking her leg. "Yes" she sighed, "They are fine" I told her, "You should have told me, someone should have" and I knew that I agreed with her on this. "It's wasn't my decision" I said in a low voice, "You could have just come to take me" did she trust me – as in Carter, enough to just come with me? Should I be happy or say that she is incredibly stupid? "I couldn't have taken you to your home, I don't want my customer to get pissed at me" I replied sarcastically. "You could have taken me anywhere from New Orleans" she mumbled, did she not like it there? "Was it that bad?" I had to ask, "It wasn't bad – I – I just" she sighed and closed her eyes, her brows creased together, "I was treated like a Princess, I just cannot be around vampire and not think about – _someone_ " her words pierced my heart like a thousand knives. "Do you hate vampires?" I tried to sound clueless, "It's not hatred, it's quite the opposite" her last words were barely a whisper. "I thought you had a human boyfriend" I tried to sound indifferent, "Who told you _that_?" she sounded taken aback, "I just heard" I replied, looking straight ahead. "No, I don't, and I didn't" she said, had she lied to me before or was she lying to me now? I was tongue-tied, I hadn't expected this answer at all. At least about 10 times, I opened my mouth but when words failed me, I closed my mouth shut. What could I say to her after all? ' _You told me you had someone when I came to visit you as a ghost_ '.

"Can I ask you something else?" I asked, trying to find answer to another burning question. "Sure" she shrugged, "Why do you take anti-depressants and anti-psychotics?" I asked her, this time she was tongue-tied, "When did you see that?" her voice was defensive, I just shrugged. She looked away, out of the window and did not respond for a long time, which honestly made me anxious. "I have some _thing_ " she responded bitterly, "What is that some _thing_?" I had to ask, "It's personal" her voice was just as bitter, "Besides, why are you so interested?" she turned her head towards me. "Just curious" I tried not to show that I genuinely cared.

"Can I tell you something?" Lily spoke as the night fell upon us. "Sure" I nodded, "I had been thinking about it since it happened nonstop" she started, "It has honestly kept me up sometimes" she chuckled, I had butterflies in my stomach, what has been bothering her? Was it something I could resolve? "The reason I keep asking you why I can't see your face is because, I suppose, the first time you came to visit me, I don't know why I thought that I saw someone, I knew" I remembered that, my heart skipped a beat just by remembering it. "I know it's stupid and you probably look _very_ different, but it is not just the looks" Lily's eyes dropped to her hands in her lap.

"I am not even sure why I am this comfortable with you, I haven't even told my best friend about this" she chuckled, it was a chuckle indicating dark humour. "You should stay away from me though" I told her, as heart breaking as it was for me, it was the only way to keep her safe, else I would have no choice but to reveal my real self. "Why?" she asked, "Once I am done with killing the Pagans, I will be gone" I told her, she shouldn't attach herself with me, what if I die again? "Can I – leave with you?" her words in the darkness, made them sound more serious, my eyes widened. "No" I outright rejected her, "Why would you want to?" I asked, "I cannot live as Lilian, as unhappy as I was at New Orleans, I have grown fond of Malia" she answered, "You cannot run away from who you are" I told her, that wasn't a solution. "Let's just leave" she looked at me, her eyes searching for my face in the darkness. "I can protect myself, I know you can protect yourself" she continued, her eyes were pleading now. As inviting as that idea was, I knew it would not work in the long run. I would gladly take her away as Kaleb once I am done with Helen. "If not forever, then just for a day" she begged, her voice wobbly. What had happened to the girl I knew? She was practically begging a stranger to take her away, was she that depressed with her life? How broken was she? Could I ever mend her heart after killing Helen? I don't know how long that would take, will I even get a chance to do something about it then?

I pulled up the car on one side of the highway. Unbuckling my seatbelt, I turned towards Lily. "I can protect you, it's not that, I can't take you away" I told her. "Is it money that you are after?" she questioned, "No" I told her, "Then why?" her voice was wobbly again, as a tear dropped on her cheek. I extended my right hand towards her face, to cup her cheek. She took a sharp breath as another tear fell on the same side of her face. Just when my hand was centimetres away from her face, I had to remind myself that I could not do anything to give myself away. I clenched my hand in a very tight fist and Lily closed her eyes, her brows creased together. With my index finger, I genteelly wiped her tears away. I couldn't help but smile when her face relaxed at my touch, even if she cannot understand who I am, her body still remembers my touch, her heart still feels my love. "I will kill those Pagans for you and then you can decide what you want to do" I promised her, she opened her eyes slowly and I saw something in her eyes, I hadn't seen in a very long time – hope and excitement.

Once I got home after dropping Lily at her home, I only had a few minutes to relax until Ellie came barging inside. "What is it?" I asked her, "Lily" was all she said, and I got up from my bed, "What about her?" I asked in urgency, "I don't know how she got this number, but she has sent a message for Carter" she told me, holding up the common phone we all use to pretend in front of Lily as Carter. "What is it?" I relaxed and sat back down on my bed, "You want me to read it?" Ellie lifted her left eyebrow and smirked, "Yeah" I said in a voice that said ' _Yes, I do_ '. "Okay" she sighed and smiled, "Carter, I hope you read this message, I want to meet you, I have a bargain for you. Show me your face in exchange for whatever it is that you need" Ellie started, "That isn't even a good bargain" I scoffed, "I will give you an hour to meet me in the Town's Square, before I go hunting for Helen" Ellie completed and looked at me, "How is that for a bargain?" she asked sarcastically. As much as I would like to believe that Lily was bluffing, I was not sure if I was ready to take that risk. "All this for making you take your mask off" Ellie sighed, "No, all this for checking if I am Kaleb" I understood Lily better than anyone, she was not excited because of what I had promised her, she was excited because she knew she had my guard down.

She was cleverer than anyone of us gave her credit for. She reminded me that incident to see my reaction, when I had not responded well to that, she was not just satisfied. But what she did not know was that I had Gabriel, whose existence was unknown to Lily. "Get Gabriel" I told Ellie, I will make sure that Lily doesn't do anything stupid from now on.

Ellie and I watched from a safe distance as Gabriel, dressed in Carter's clothes, walked towards Lily. He was two inches shorter than me, our built seemed similar in Carter's clothes, and though he never walked like me, he was doing an impressive job at the moment; I wondered if Lily would be able to tell the difference? When Lily saw him walk towards her, her lips curled up in a smile, she felt triumphant. I smirked, knowing full well that she couldn't just win like that, not from someone who is by a great margin older than her.

"Don't threaten me again" Gabriel's voice was sharp, just as mine would have been, our voices weren't as different either, it was hard to tell the difference when both of us made our voices deeper than they were. "You are here, I must have done something right" Lily said, "I am here because I don't want you to go through with your suicide mission" Gabriel was doing a fine job. "Show me your face" Lily pressed, "What makes you think I am here to comply?" Gabriel asked. Though Lily at first was at loss of words, she composed herself and said, "I will willingly surrender myself to Helen if you don't". "I will keep an eye on you 24 hours" Gabriel challenged her, "You can try" she challenged him back.

"Just show me your face and I will never ask you to do it again" Lily promised, stepping closer to Gabriel who stepped back. "How can I trust you?" Gabriel asked, had it been I, I wouldn't have given up so easily, but the whole idea to send Gabriel was to show her his face, so that she stops. "I would not out you, you can kill me if I do" she replied sternly. I wonder how Gabriel reacted to that because both Ellie and I were shell shocked as we exchanged glances. "No, I want you to promise me that you would not stand in our plans to kill Helen, _ever_ " he said, for a brief second Lily was confused, "I promise" she said with a nod. "If you even think of crossing me, I will make sure you stay in New Orleans till we deal with Helen" Gabriel warned her before he raised his hand slowly.

He removed his face mask and stuffed it in his pocket, I could hear Lily's heart pounding loudly. Gabriel lowered his head as he very slowly with both his hands took off the hoodie. He raised his head and I can only imagine the look he had given Lily. Even though Lily's heart was pounding as soon as she caught the first look of Gabriel's face, her smile disappeared as mine grew bigger. She took a sharp breath when their eyes met and then she lowered her eyes, I knew how intense Gabriel's gaze could be. What I did not want to think about was that how for a split second, Lily's heart had skipped a beat, and a faint smile appeared on her face before it disappeared quickly.


	21. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

I was standing in the balcony of my room looking at the moon trying to escape the thick shade of the clouds. It was going to pour down on the sleeping city very soon. With Damon, Elena and Enzo still recovering, we had decided to stay hidden as much as possible, though there was no safe house for us to hide those three to recover, what we could do at the most was relay on Bonnie and Gabriel's magic with the hope that Helen does not find a way around it. Though what was strange was that apparently the Pagans had left Mystic Falls. Since the day everyone landed in the hospital, the Pagans had fled as well.

I sighed and closed my eyes, trying to find the end of this all. Sadly, I was unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel. Every time we had thought that things would get better, another thing goes wrong, and right now I was scared to even think that things would get better, the fear that as soon as I think things would get better, something would go wrong scared the living daylight out of, after all, I don't know how hard the next blow would be.

I had to get out of the house, I opened my eyes. I knew who could make me feel better. I can go see her right now. I did not need any solid excuse, just checking up on her, right? Or maybe I can just see her from a distance and stay around her for a little while. I don't know why, just being around her would lift my spirit; it would suddenly give me hope that things, no matter how hard it gets, would get better.

Driving down the road towards Lily's house, the rain started pouring down, softly tapping on the windshield at first and then aggressively drenching the whole city in a matter of few minutes. I had to slow down regardless of being able to see clearly, because for any human driving in this rain would be hard and I did not want to get involved in an accident because of some human.

The headlights of my car danced on the road as the road curved and I decided to put on some music just to fill the unsettling silence and the emptiness it filled me with.

Turning towards the road that would lead me to Lily's house, I noticed the deserted road had a car parked in the middle of the with it's parking lights on and the driver's door wide open. I slowed down further in an attempt to see what was going on here. My eyebrows shot up and I was startled when I recognized the car. Lily? That cold wash that goes down your spine when you are scared out of your mind? I experienced that the instant I saw the car was empty. My heart was pounding painfully until I got close enough to see a brunette head sitting in front of the car but my heart dropped to my stomach when I saw it all.

I hit the breaks making the car jerk. Opening my seatbelt, I jumped out of the car. It all came into my view once I ran to the front of Lily's car. A limp body of a male as young as Lily, covered in blood, head resting in Lily's lap; Lily sitting there shell shocked, covered in blood, sweat and tears; she did not even realise that someone had stopped and was standing right next to her. "Lily!" my voice was louder than normal, but it pulled her out of her trance. "Carter, I – I – hit" her eyes were widened as she sobbed. I sat down beside her, and slowly slid my head under the boy's head, lifting it up as carefully as possible, I placed his head on the ground. "I don't think – he is" Lily started, "breathing" her voice was a whisper. She was wrong, I could hear a faint heartbeat, his heart was ready to give up any minute now. "Did you call 911?" I asked her, holding her by her shoulders. "I don't have my phone" her eyes were fixed on the boy.

"Look at me" I shook her by her shoulders, "I have my phone in the car" I started as she looked at me, "Call 911" I told her, but she did not respond. "Lily! You need to snap out of it" I shook her, and I heard her gasp. "I killed someone" She said in a matter-of-fact voice, "No, he is alive, but you need to call 911" I was easily able to make her get up from the ground. "Now!" I pressed, trying to let her know the urgency of the situation.

Like a zombie, Lily walked over to my car and I sat down beside the boy. I could give him my blood right now and that would heal him, hopefully. I could see more injuries than I could count on my single hand. I turned to look at Lily who was apparently searching for the phone in my car. But if I gave this boy my blood, Lily would know I am a vampire. I cannot risk that, at all. But can I let Lily live with the thought that this boy died because of her? Will she be able to live with that realisation? Did this boy deserved to die when I could have saved him? I clenched my fists tightly as a lump formed at the back of my throat. This boy is not going to make it by the time help arrives that much is for sure. Lily's voice faded in the background as I realised that I needed to decide, right away.

"There is no signal" Lily cried, and I decided it then. "Come here" I told her, Lily stood a good 2 feet away from us. I got up from the ground and turned to Lily, "Don't move him at all, I have something in the trunk of my car that might help him, let me get that and then we can get him to the hospital" I told her, and she nodded frantically. "Wait here" I instructed before jogging to the back of my car. I opened the trunk of my car and looked for anything that could hold liquid. I found a test tube with a cork, it had evergreen ashes stored in it. Without a second thought, I dumped the evergreen ashes on the road and pulled away my face mask and glove.

Biting my palm, I placed my hand over the test tube. It was 3/4th filled before my wound healed. I put the cork over it and put it down before putting on my glove and face mask. I ran back to the boy, Lily stood over the boy, looking at him directly, I wondered how she could even look at him when he looked so gruesome covered in blood and wounds. "Vampire blood might help" I told her as I tried to bring her attention to me. "You have vampire blood?" she asked, hopeful. "Yes, I don't know if it would work 100%" I told her as I sat down next to the boy.

I opened his mouth slowly and emptied the contents to the test tube in his mouth. Closing his mouth, I waited for a few seconds to see if it would at least start making his heart beat a little faster, that way we would know that it is work. Eyes burgeoning with tears, Lily looked away when the boy did not respond, her face started to get paled, I feared that she was going to pass out. I sighed and put my hand on top of my hoodie before slowly dropping it to my side. I got up and walked to Lily, standing between her and the boy, noticing that tear filled Lily's eyes and she struggled to breath I pulled her closer. Wrapping my one arm around her shoulder and putting my other arm at the back of her head, I put her head on my chest, obstructing her view. While normally, Lily would calm down with the proximity between us, today she still struggled to breath. "Lily, you aren't going to say anything about this to anyone" I told her. "I killed him" her voice was a whisper, "No, you didn't, and if it comes to that, I did, I killed him, not you" I told her. Her head shot up instantly to look at me. "I – ran him over" Lily told me, before I could respond, I knew Lily would not be able to take the burden of killing someone.

"We are going to try to save him" I told her. I quickly turned around and picked up the boy, effortlessly. I was thankful for my vampire abilities, "Go home" I told Lily, "I am coming with you" she replied stubbornly as she opened the back door of my car. I gently placed the boy's limp body in the car and before I could close the door of the car, Lily got inside sitting at the back with the boy.

I would have never drove this fast with Lily in the car in this rain, if it had not been an emergency. Reaching the hospital, I ripped away my face mask to avoid questions. "Run to get help" I told Lily, turning my face only slightly towards her. Without a word, Lily got out of the car and ran inside. I picked up my phone and dialled Gabriel's number. "How quickly can you make it to the hospital?" I asked him, "I am around, 5 minutes" he replied, "I am waiting for you in the parking lot" I told him, "Why are you at the hospital?" he asked me. "Come here and I will tell you everything" I replied before hanging up. The doors of the hospital busted open as a group of doctors and nurses with a stretcher ran out. Lily did not come out, I was grateful for that.

The group of doctors and nurses surrounded my car. "In the back" I shouted rolling down the window. Before I could say anything further, they opened the back doors and started working on the boy. They talked in medical terms that I did not care about, all I wanted was to park in a spot where I could meet Gabriel, tell him the situation and send him inside to help Lily. Once the boy was taken inside, I quickly drove my car to the parking lot where I did not have to wait for Gabriel to arrive. "What happened?" he asked as he saw me taking off my jacket. "Wear this" I told him, and he did without another question. "I was going to meet Lily, and, on the way, I saw her" I started, judging the blood on my jacket he jumped to a conclusion, "Is she okay?" his eyes widened. "Physically" I nodded, "She has hit someone, we have bought him to the hospital, I want you to take my place, make sure she doesn't say anything stupid" I told him as I removed my gloves and gave it to him, he shoved the gloves in his pocket.

"Where are you going?" he asked me, "To remove the evidences" I told him, "Also, I gave the boy my blood" I explained him the whole situation with me lying to Lily. "Okay" Gabriel nodded before pulling up the hoodie. I handed him my car keys and took his car keys from him.

Watching him take my place made me slightly uncomfortable. I wanted to be there for Lily right now, I _should_ be there for her. But I cannot me, it also made me frustrated. ' _Focus_ ' I reminded myself, all I had to do was remove all the evidence of the hit and made sure that it does not lead back to Lily and if need be, I will protect Lily from herself. I need to find a way to stop her from drinking vervain without her knowing, so that I can compel her to forget what she has done. After all, if the boy was going to be fine, there was no need for Lily to feel guilty right?


	22. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

The Annual Carnival at Mystic Falls A.K.A. chaos; it was going to be hard to keep a track of Lily. The boy we had taken to the hospital had recovered completely – a miracle recovery as the doctors called it, but we knew it was because of the blood I fed him. Before anyone could question him, I had his memories altered. In his brain, it was a hit and run case, the driver did not stop, Lily was apparently the next one to pass by and had stopped to help him. Lily of course was very confused by this, as she was expecting him to say her name. I had already told everyone that I was going to alter Lily's memory of the event as well. While Elena was totally against it, Damon backed me up. Regardless of if he had or not, I would be doing this any way. I was done watching her suffer. I don't know how she came to hit the boy, but he was alright, all signs of any injuries were gone, Lily can take it out of her brain as well. If need be, I will alter everyone's memories; just so Lily does not suffer anymore.

"How are you going to do it? Don't you have to show your face to her for this?" Ellie asked me as we walked down the hike we were taking to the forest. "I can erase that as well" I told her, yes, the plan made me slightly uncomfortable. "Are you sure she is off vervain? She isn't taking it secretly?" Ellie asked me, "I can never be sure of what she is doing secretly" I looked straight ahead. "What if she is on vervain?" Ellie looked at me, "I suppose I will have to keep her locked up until it is out of her system" I chuckled, I don't think I can keep her locked up though, so that she will go with it without anything to say about it. "Honestly, do you have no plan?" Ellie huffed, "I cannot tell if someone is on vervain just by looking at them" I shrugged, "Can't you – taste her blood – a drop of it?" I looked at Ellie in disbelief, was she serious? "Just be sure, we are so close to finding the altar, if you reveal yourself now, it can ruin everything" Ellie rolled her eyes.

Gabriel and Bonnie were trying to locate the altar, so that we can destroy it. If we couldn't do that, they had a back up plan ready as well, we were going to do exactly the same to Helen as she had done to us. We did not need to do it to all the Pagans, if Helen is powerless and alone, we can kill her off easily. If they cannot find the altar before the Pagans return, then we go with plan B.

"How do you propose I taste her blood without revealing myself?" I asked her, "I can get her blood for you, she trusts me" Ellie told me, that is right, Ellie has been around Lily just as much, and Lily knew if she couldn't get in touch with Carter his friend is just as good. "I will get you a drop of her blood, that is all you need right?" Ellie asked me, "Ellie, that's not right" I shook my head. "Kaleb, please" Ellie begged. "Besides, it's not like you are feeding on her" she shrugged, "How will you get her blood?" I asked after a long pause. "Meet me in an hour back at your place" Ellie said as she started walking away. I caught her hand and turned her around, she stood inches away from me. "Is it going to hurt Lily?" I asked looking into her eyes, "A little, I _am_ going to get her blood" she said in a matter-of-fact voice. "I am not in favour of this, let's just stop this" I said in a low voice. "I know you aren't in favour of this" Ellie placed her free hand on my hand and slowly removed my hand from hers as she spoke "This is why you aren't going to be involved".

I waited impatiently outside my house for Ellie to show up. I watched her show up just as the clock showed that an hour was up. "Were you waiting for me?" Ellie asked cheerfully. "Do you have it?" I asked, unsure, the unsettling feeling in my chest was hard to ignore. "Of course" she smiled and pulled something out of the pocket of her jeans. It was a little needle in a test tube. "Only a drop, I just pricked her finger very carefully" she handed me the test tube. "Go on" she encouraged me as I looked at the drop of blood on the needle. "It did not hurt her, she did not even notice at first" Ellie told me. When I did not open the cork of the test tube, Ellie took it from my hand and opened the cork.

"She is alone at her home at the moment, if she isn't on vervain, you can go in and do what you need to" Ellie said as she offered me the test tube. Very carefully I pulled out the needle and wiped the blood on my index finger. I watched the red dot carefully. My mouth started to salivate as I gulped in. My hands shook as I bought my index finger closer to my lips and I closed my eyes and parted my lips slowly. Touching my index finger to my lips, fireworks exploded in my mind immediately. The feeling of tasting fresh blood was not comparable to any other feeling. I could not think of anything else – I knew this taste all too well and I wanted to taste it again.

"Kaleb!" Ellie shook me bring me out of my trance, I opened my eyes and dropped my hand. "Is it laced with vervain?" she asked me, "No" I had a hard time thinking straight. "Are you sure?" she looked concerned. I cleared my throat and tried to shake off the thoughts in my head, "Yes, it worked. She is off vervain" I told her. "Go on then" Ellie jerked her head in the direction of the gate. "Yes" I nodded as I walked past her, "Kaleb" she called out as I took a few steps away from her. I turned around and saw her turn around just a second later. "Are you okay?" she asked me, "Yes" I smiled before pulling up my hoodie and turning around to walk away.

I stood outside Lily's house, it was quiet. I could only hear Lily listening to some music on her headphones. I thought if I should just get in through her window or ring the doorbell. I decided with the latter, there is no need for her to be startled with my sudden appearance. So, I rang the doorbell and waited; looking at my feet. I heard her turn off the music and rushing downstairs. She opened the door and her heart skipped a beat. "Carter?" her voice was low, "What are you doing here?" she asked. "I need to talk to you" I told her. "What is it?" she asked, "Can I come in?" I asked in a low voice, "Uh" she hesitated and looked behind her, "Sure" she made way for me to come inside, I walked past her.

My heart started pounding as soon as I got inside, and she closed the door behind herself. "What is it?" she turned around to face me. "Lily" I said in a low voice, I felt my heart would escape from my chest at the rate it was beating on. I could feel my palms sweating, "What is it? You are scaring me" Lily frowned. "I have to show you something" I spoke slowly. This was it, I had to do it in order compel her. I will compel this memory away as well, can I do it? Especially after whatever her reaction would be to see me. "What is it?" she asked, wrapping her arms around herself. I lifted my hands and held my hoodie in its place. "I have already seen your face" Lily's heart started pounding as well, and then without a second to waste, I pushed my back hoodie and revealed my face.

I heard her gasp; her hands covered her mouth as her eyes widened. A single tear escaped her eye when our eyes met. Her eyebrows creased together, she took a step back and backed up against the main door, her hands shaking violently but her eyes never leaving my face. Her heart was not ready to settle down.

Her right hand still shaking she lifted her hand towards me, "It's me" I said in a low voice. She dropped both her hands by her side, "Kaleb" her voice was barely a whisper. Tears started to well up in my eyes when a hint of smile appeared on her face and I nodded. With unsure steps she walked towards me, very slowly. She stood a good one foot away from me and looked into my eyes, and then at my face and then her eyes taking in all of me. Without another word she wrapped her arms around my torso and placed her head on my chest. The tears were no longer silent, as I wrapped my arms around her and pulled her closer to myself. She lifted her head to look at me and I cupped her cheek without letting her go or creating any space between us.

With my thumb I wiped her tears away and she closed her eyes. "I can't stay here for long" with a heavy heart I said those words, her eyes opened wide. "What do you mean? I am not letting you go" she argued, "You won't remember it baby" a lump formed at the back of my throat. She was confused to say the least. "No!" fear flashed across her face when she realized what I was talking about, as a tear dropped from my eyes, I started what I had to do, what I was here for. "You aren't going to remember hitting the boy with your car, someone else had already hit him when you were driving by, you did not see who it was, you just stopped your car to help him, you did not have your phone and luckily ran into Carter, do you understand?" I asked looking into Lily's unfocused eyes. "Yes" she responded, "You are not going to remember this conversation, you are going to forget this meeting. Kaleb is dead" I did not want to do this, I am so sorry Lily. "You are going to continue about your day as you were doing, okay?" I asked, "Yes" Lily responded obediently. I stepped away from Lily, "Go back to what you were doing and forget all of this" and she walked away from me without a second glance and all the while my heart hopped that this compulsion would fail.

I walked out of Lily's house. I was the worst kind of monster there was but of one thing I was proud. I can be selfish when it came to get what I wanted but with Lily I can never be selfish. I will always give her what is best for her, even if it is something she doesn't want.

When the sun went down it was time for the carnival to start in Mystic Falls. Lily was going to be at the carnival with her family and friends and we were going to keep an eye on them from a distance, just in case. I was going to see what the effect of compulsion on Lily was. I had given Damon the update and asked him to get Lily back on vervain.

I watched Lily in her black loose fitted, dip hem, full sleeve top with a fitted ice blue jeans and black ankle boots. Her hair colour was still just as beautiful as it was when she had dyed it back in the motel. She was walking around the carnival with Olivia, the two of them seemed to be having a good time. It was such a relief to watch Lily finally laugh and enjoy herself, and for Olivia to finally look like a little burden was taken off her shoulders. These young girls deserved some time off. looked around to see everything looked normal, maybe for once they can enjoy the day. I decided that I should leave with the others, it was safe for them.

When I pulled out my phone to call Gabriel and Ellie, Gabriel's name flashed on my phone. I picked up the call, "What is it?" I asked, "I think, I am not sure, I saw some Pagans" Gabriel spoke in a low voice. It no longer made me anxious to hear those words, but rather pissed. "How many?" I asked from between my teeth, "Two" Gabriel replied, "You know I am really pissed today, I am going to kill them" I spoke from between my teeth, my hands clenched in a fist. "Don't go up against them alone" Gabriel warned me. "It's just two of them" I replied before hanging up on him.

I scanned through the crowd to look for someone suspicious. I was going to rip them to shreds today and send them back as a gift for Helen. I have had enough of it. It was going to end for them soon. I have had them dance around for long enough. Weirdly enough, I did not feel my abilities being drained this time. Did something finally happen to the altar? Not possible.

Maybe I can use this as a strength to find those Pagans. I started with running to the parking lot when I felt nothing there, I went back to the carnival. As I stepped further into the crowd, the very sensation of everything being drained out of me was back. I looked around frantically, scanning through the crowd. My eyes moved from one individual to another, seeing Lily's face for a brief second in the crowd and then moving ahead, I had to take a second glance because of my human like eyes.

I saw a man right behind Lily, I felt my heart sink to my stomach when I saw him holding a knife, the pointed end towards Lily. "Lily!" I shouted but only the people near me turned around, the music and the crowd were so loud that there was no way Lily would hear me. I pushed my feet off the ground and ran towards Lily as fast as could. Just as I was a few inches away from Lily, neither of them saw me coming and the man swung the knife towards me. Before it could touch Lily, I crashed into Lily, my shoulder pushing her out of the way. I felt a sharp pain at the side of my stomach and I looked at the man who immediately pulled back the knife. His eyes widened, he ran in the opposite direction.

My hand covered where I was feeling the sharp pain. When I removed my hand, my glove was covered in blood. All I could hear was a ringing sound in my ears. I was hoping for my vampire abilities to heal me, but I never felt it return. "Carter!" Lily's voice sounded so distant even though I knew she was right beside me. "He's stabbed!" Olivia's voice seemed just as far away. I could feel my knees giving up when Lily caught me by my shoulders, she stood right in front of me. "Carter! We need to call for help" she said after looking at my wound. Olivia nodded and pulled out her phone, "I will mom" she said, "Call 911!" Lily shouted, "No!" my voice was barely a whisper, "Get me out of here" I told them, Olivia seemed to understand. I would heal once I am away from the Pagans.

"Lily c'mon!" Olivia put my left arm around Lily's shoulder who helped me walk. "I am going to get someone, take him somewhere less crowded" Olivia instructed Lily. I tried very hard to walk up as straight as I possibly could, but the sharp pain was making it hard. "C'mon you are almost there" Lily dragged me, I noticed that she was taking me towards the forest.

Once away from the public eye, I removed my arm from Lily's shoulder and dropped on the ground. "Hey! Someone is going to come, I am going to keep applying pressure on your wound till then, okay?" Lily helped me sit up against a tree. I nodded and very carefully she placed her hand on my wound. "I can't see your eyes, but keep them open, okay?" Lily instructed me, how could I tell her that I can barely listen to her words, let alone stay focused enough to keep my eyes open. "What happened back there?" she asked, scooting closer to me. "He was – going to stab" was all I could see before it finally happened, the darkness I was witnessing all around me, finally engulfed me and then there was absolutely nothing – silence and darkness.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **Thank you for reading my story, please share your reviews. Hit the favourite and follow button if you like my story. Will be back with an update very soon.**

 _ **-JT**_


	23. Chapter 22

**Chapter 22**

I opened my eyes and it took me a while to focus on everything in front of me. At first all I could see was blinding brightness and then I realised I was in a room with white ceiling. I looked around to find familiar walls and curtains, I was in my room. "Oh! You are awake" it was Ellie's voice, being confused was an understatement. Ah! I remembered, the sharp pain, my hand immediately touched the side of my stomach. "You are healed" Ellie said and I turned my head to the left side to see her. "What happened?" my voice was barely a whisper. "To put it simply, you died" Ellie nodded, "But since you are a vampire, and we were able to get you out on time, you came back to life" she continued. "What?" I died? In front of Lily? The shock was eminent from my voice.

"I don't speak doctor, but something major was stabbed when you were stabbed" Ellie sighed, "You were bleeding to death, and moving to the woods while it was a wise choice, made your injuries worse" her words made sick knots in my stomach. "Your body finally started giving out, it was quick; but Olivia found me and I was able to reach to you on time while Lily tried to stabilize you" Ellie spoke slowly, "I knew you were in a bad shape when I found you, blood everywhere, I could barely feel your heartbeat, so I told Lily that I need to get you out of there, she was confused at first but complied and helped me get you in the car" I wonder what Lily was thinking, I turned to my side, uncomfortably. "Once I could feel my abilities coming back, I knew you would heal, but your injuries were too deep to heal in a matter of seconds and you were on the brink of death and you died. But like all vampires, you healed and came back to life" Ellie concluded, "Lily thinks I am injured?" I asked, "Yes, so you need to take it slow, alright?" Ellie replied; "Alright, but she isn't hurt, right?" I asked, "Of course not" Ellie smiled and got up from my bed side. "Should I get you something to gain your strength?" she asked me, "It's fine, I will get it" I replied getting up from the bed.

"Where is Gabriel?" I asked as the two of us walked downstairs, "He and Bonnie are preparing the spell to bind Helen's powers to a talisman, now that they are back" Ellie replied, "So, we did not find the altar?" I was disappointed, but I knew how hard of a task it was. "No, also, they are coming over to discuss the plan, apparently we need a lot of muscle strength to use the spell" Ellie told me, "Now?" I asked, "Yes, we thought you would want to put an end to this quickly, especially after what had happened" Ellie looked at me, blinking her eyes, confused. "Of course, I do" I mumbled, looking away. I just wanted to take a break. It had been one heck of a ride since I have come to Mystic Falls and I just want it all to end, no matter what.

"So the plan goes this way" Bonnie started, "We need to make physical connection with Helen, now of course, she would not volunteer to let herself be touched, so we need a lot of muscle strength, considering none of who will be near her will have their powers at the fullest, once that is done, Gabriel, Olivia and I will try to be as quick as possible in using that connection to tie her powers to a talisman and once that is done, we will be on equal footing" she said. "The only problem is she would not be found and even if she is, she would not just let someone touch her" Gabriel sighed. Maybe – I can do it. She has shown an interest in bringing me to her side, she has been touchy-feely with me before. If I can make her believe that I am interested in her, maybe she will let me touch her and that we no one else needs to be around. "I can do it" I told them, "Like she would let you touch her without being suspicious?" Ellie scoffed. "She might" I mumbled and the three of them eyed me suspiciously. "Just trust me" I sighed, "How long do I have to be in contact with her?" I asked, "Five minutes at the most, without breaking the contact" Gabriel said slowly, "Just physical contact?" I asked, "Yes" Bonnie narrowed her eyes. "Alright, get ready to do the spell" I shrugged and got up.

Gabriel followed me to my room and shut the door behind himself. "What are you planning to do?" he asked me, "I am going to turn myself over to Helen" I told him as I looked for my blade. "And what is that going to do? She will kill you!" he threw his hands in the air. I opened the first drawer where I usually kept my blade and found it sitting there. "No, she always wanted me by her side for some reason" I told him, picking up the blade and tucking it at the back of my jeans. "Even if she doesn't kill you, why will she let you touch her?" he asked, his brows knitted together. "Because – she has before" I said slowly, for a moment Gabriel stood there dumbfounded and it made me shift my weight from one foot to another, uncomfortable. "Okay, please tell me it isn't what I am thinking it is – tell me it did not get _that_ far" Gabriel finally spoke, "It didn't we just – kissed" the last word was a whisper and the look on Gabriel's face was priceless. "I think I just puked in my mouth a little – Gross!" Gabriel replied dramatically, "Are you going to kiss _her_?" he asked me, "I will do whatever it takes" I shrugged, "Don't kiss her" he shook his head, his nose scrunched up. "It's not like I enjoy it and I will try to avoid that as much as possible" I told him, "I think I am going to get sick just by thinking about it" Gabriel sighed and looked away, his eyes widened. I did not enjoy kissing Helen, if anything, it made me just as sick but if that is what it took to kill her, I would kiss her before putting a stake through her heart.

"Just go with the plan, and let's get the thorn out of our lives for good" I told him, as I made my way towards the door. "Where are you going?" Gabriel asked me, "I am going to ask Helen to meet me, so take Ellie with you" I told him looking over my shoulder as I made my way out of the room.

I stood in the town's square looking at three Pagans right in front of my eyes. I waited for them to spot me and to be honest they weren't doing a good job at it. It took them a whole lot of time to finally spot me, but they were easily provoked, all I had to do was smirk and they followed me. I turned to an empty alley around the corner and hid, waiting for them. I heard their footsteps approaching and then I saw them, their backs towards me as they looked around for me. It was the right time – I pulled my blade out and without making any noise, I stood behind the man standing closest to me and held my blade tightly with both my hands. With a powerful swing, I took his head in one blow. His head rolled on the ground and his body dropped on its knees before falling making the other two turn. "Tell Helen that I want to meet her – alone, she knows where to find me" I told them as I wiped the blood drops that had splattered on my face with the back of my hand before turning around to leave.

I waited for a pissed off Helen to show up for two hours. I was told that as soon as I would make a connection, they would know and start the spell. I was hoping that it would work. I suddenly felt my abilities draining out, like every time Pagans were around. My heart was beating as fast as it could as I touched the evergreen wood stake that I had hid at the back of my jeans. The door swung open and I sat as still as I could on the couch.

The clicking of heels made me look up – Helen was here, she stood near the door that closed behind her. My back was towards her, so I hadn't seen her face yet. "Why did you want to see me?" she asked, she did not sound pissed, just bored. I got up and turned around slowly. Her front slit, maxi dress barely covered all that was supposed to be covered with the deep V neck and backless style. "I want to strike a deal with you" I thought of getting straight to the point as I walked towards her. That interested her, she smiled as she watched me walk up to her. "What deal?" she asked me, I stood inches away from her and she looked right in my eyes. "I will join you, if you promise to leave Lily and everyone around her alone" I told her and she laughed. "Don't you think that is a weak deal?" she rolled her eyes, "No, you need to sacrifice humans in order to survive, I am the world's best killer, I can get you more human sacrifices than all of your minions combined" I told her. "But I really want Lily dead" Helen looked at me innocently, "I know that for some reason you are interested in having me by your side" I started, "you know that I will be so much more helpful and fun than your minions, all I am asking is you leave these people alone" I told her.

"Why are you suddenly interested in joining me?" Helen questioned, "You planned an attack on Lily last night, I don't want that to happen again" I told her. "Kaleb" her honey laced voice made me sick, she extended her hand towards me and placed her hand on my chest. The connection was made, I just need to keep it there. "I told you before if only you weren't in love with Lilian" she proceeded to take her hand off my chest and I caught it there, placing her hand firmly on my chest making her gasp. She looked at me, shocked to say the least. "I am a vampire, I have thousands of years behind me, and thousands of years ahead of me, she is a human, mortal; I can have interest in more than one person in my lifetime" I told her looking in her eyes. For a moment, I thought she had bought it with the look on her face.

She stepped closer, "If I was a little gullible I would have believed you" she smirked and proceeded to take her hand off my chest, while I still had her hand in mine, I pulled her closer. Wrapping my hand around her bare waist, it was like thousands of needles piercing the skin on my hand. "I am not saying I am interested in you right in this moment, all I am saying is" I paused as I tucked the lock of her hair falling on her face behind her ear. "I can grow fond of you not right away, considering you did kill me, but maybe once the hard feelings are gone" I told her. "What are you doing?" she asked, trying to get out of my gasp. "You have always been fond of kissing me for some reason" I started, and for the first time it seemed like she was at loss of words.

I cupped her right cheek and looked into her eyes. Slowly, I lowered my face close to hers and I could feel her ragged breathing. I smiled as warmly as I could and before I could not take it anymore, I closed my eyes and very slowly, captured her lips with mine. She gasped and remained still for a few seconds; before responding to my kiss softly. We parted our lips, out of breath, I did not like the sensation her lips had left on mine. "How can – I trust you?" she asked, clearly smitten. "What can I do to win your trust?" I asked her, "Can you kill – Damon or Elena? Any one of Lily's parent, I am sure she will survive" Helen was back to her evil ways. I knew there was no redemption for her in this world. "I asked you to leave _all_ of them alone" I told her firmly. "Then how about you hand me over the evergreen stake you are hiding?" she asked with a smirk making my eyes grew wider.

I lost my grip on her waist, but she put her hand on my shoulder. "Did you think I wouldn't assume you were going to kill me?" she whispered in my ear. "I only had it for my protection, if you agree to my deal, I will gladly hand it over" I told her. She thought about it for a while and I glanced over to the clock, 2 minutes 10 seconds had passed since I made a connection with her. These were going to be the longest 5 minutes of my life. "Don't worry, I don't kiss and tell" she smirked and I quickly composed my face, smirking back. I pushed her against the door, taking her by surprise again.

I captured her lips again with mine, this time passionately and aggressively and she returned the favour almost immediately. I lifted her off the ground, her left leg wrapped around my waist as my fingers traced her curves. Her hands lingered on my chest before she ripped open my shirt and we parted our lips to look at each other. I heard her gasp and she placed her left hand on her heart as her eyes went out of focus for a moment. I glanced over at the clock and saw that the five minutes were up.

Without any more consideration, I dropped her on the ground and smirked as she looked up at me. "What did you do?!" she shouted, betrayal in her eyes. "Just what you had done to us" I told her innocently. "I will kill you!" she shouted lifting her hand up, but nothing happened. I bent down next to her, "As long as you are around us, your powers won't work" I told her and proceeded to take the evergreen stake out of the back on my jeans. "Remember that you are a human in my presence as well" she said before she plunged a knife in my stomach making me gasp, before she got up and ran out of the door in a matter of seconds.

As soon as she was gone, I felt my supernatural abilities returned and I watched my wound slowly heal.


	24. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

"I cannot believe you did it!" Ellie chuckled, "How were you able to do it without getting killed?" Ellie joked, "Yes, _how_ did you do it?" Gabriel crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I – well, handed myself over to her, I told her that I will join her if she leaves everyone alone" I spoke slowly after a pause. "And why will she let you touch her for that?" Gabriel spoke from between his teeth, "Do you know something I don't?" Ellie asked Gabriel, "Yes, shall I tell

her?" Gabriel nodded to Ellie and looked at me, "Why?" I narrowed my eyes at him. "Because it was weird" Gabriel threw his hands in the air. "What was?" Ellie asked Gabriel, "Helen – kissed him" Gabriel said slowly. "I am sorry – What?" Ellie tilted her head to the left. "I told you it was weird" Gabriel rolled his eyes. I sighed and looked away from them. "Why – why – why would she?" Ellie struggled with words. "She is interested in him that is why" Gabriel said in a matter-of-fact voice. "Why? He is with Lily and they are perfect" Ellie whined. "I am not _with_ Lily" I corrected her. "You will be once we get rid of Helen" Gabriel injected.

"Be straight with us" Gabriel started, "Did you kiss her?" he asked. "No" I looked at him as if he was talking nonsense and the two of them raised their eyebrows and gave me the ' _really?_ ' look. "M – maybe" I mumbled. "Why?" Ellie's brows creased together. "Look before you give me a hard time about it, I did not enjoy kissing her or touching her for that matter. I saw an opportunity and took a chance, it worked!" I tried to explain myself, "What opportunity? Wouldn't it have been better if we had just held her by her throat?" Ellie scoffed, "She was stronger than us, do you really think we would have been able to hold her down without _any_ sort of tricks, even for a minute? She was vulnerable when I touched her, she believed me when I said that I would leave with her and to protect Lily and everyone else involved if that would be the last option, I would gladly leave. I do not want people dying because I want to uphold a saint image because guess what I am far from being a saint! I am the apex predator, I have killed more number of people in the last century than you can count in your entire life. Lily isn't the first girl I have been with, there have been more girls than I can count and no it wasn't for love; I wasn't taught to love, so I am not here to prove myself as the perfect man, I am flawed but of one thing I can assure you, I haven't loved anyone before but I love Lily more than _anything_ in this world and I can do _anything_ for her" I knitted my brows together as I spoke and then left them with their mouth hanging open as I walked out of the backyard door.

"Kaleb!" Gabriel followed after me, he put his hand on my shoulder and spoke, "Sorry we misunderstood you – _I_ misunderstood you" his voice was low. I sighed and turned towards him, "No, I get it, I would probably react in the same way" I started, "I am sorry I snapped" I apologized. "We deserved it" Gabriel shrugged before he dropped his hand to his side. "We are glad that at least we are even now, we might be able to find and destroy the altar more easily now" Gabriel smiled, and I nodded. "What are we all waiting for?" I asked, "You will have to sit this one out though" Gabriel said, "Why?" I was puzzled, "Remember you – as in Carter got stabbed, what are we going to tell Lily when she sees Carter fighting as if he was never stabbed?" Gabriel asked. "Who is bringing her along?" I asked, "And someone needs to protect her and keep her at her house" Gabriel shrugged. "You can do it" I told him, "Bonnie, Olivia and I can destroy the altar far easily and from afar with magic without anyone getting hurt, but with you all, you will have to get physically close to the altar which will turn you all humans and someone _will_ get hurt" Gabriel told me.

"I have to stay with Lily alone" I spoke more to myself. "C'mon, she doesn't remember you showed your face to her, she remembers this face as Carter" Gabriel pointed at himself. "You are right, it will be okay" I tried to comfort myself. But when has our plan ever gone according to how we wanted it to go. " _Do not_ get hurt, or I will kill you myself" I put my hand on his shoulder. "Let's make this a fool proof plan" Gabriel stated, "I just want this to get over" I sighed, "I know, it's so tiring, I wish we could just kill Helen" Gabriel agreed. "I wish I had stabbed her first while I had the chance, we would be enjoying right now" I regretted getting cocky for a moment when I had Helen under my thumb and giving her a chance to stab me before escaping. "Things will work out in our favor, I am sure of it" Gabriel comforted me. I hope he is right, because I am getting really pissed at how I am unable to see the light at the end of the tunnel right now.

Bonnie, Olivia and Gabriel spent 3 days and 3 nights straight looking for the altar, they had their mind set on finding it as soon as possible. Nothing else mattered to them; it was as if sleep, food, everything else was put on pause; while the rest of us were hell bent on making it a success. I was going to be with Lily the whole while, I could fight if need be and I could keep her nerves under control as well, hopefully. The rest of them were going to go in with Bonnie, Olivia and Gabriel, guns blazing, while the three of them took care of the altar, they were going to take shots at the Pagans, it would be much easier to take them out now that they won't have their magic. Our idea was to kill as many as we could, if one of them could get Helen, even better, if not, we were at least going to reduce their population to half.

Though as always there was a small bump in our plan. On the fourth day I received a call from Bonnie that they have located the altar finally, but it was also a full moon on that day, which meant if they go in today, Ellie would have to sit this one out. "If you could wait till tomorrow" Ellie started, "It's alright, we got this" Bonnie told her. "I want to help as well" Ellie looked at me. I was standing with the phone on speaker in my hand and Ellie standing with her hands crossed in front of her chest. "We want to go in as soon as possible, throw them off guard" Bonnie spoke, "Ellie will sit this one out" I spoke looking at Ellie, who opened her mouth to say something but closed it immediately. "You can take Lily to the Gilbert lake house" Bonnie added, "I will get ready, tell Damon and Elena I am coming to get Lily" I said before hanging up.

"Let me help you out first" I told Ellie before putting the phone in my pocket. "I have everything I need in your basement" Ellie pointed towards the hallway leading to the basement. "Will you be alright here? Alone?" I asked her. "Yes, I have done this before, besides I don't want you around when I turn" Ellie shrugged. "Let's just go through everything once" I sighed before gesturing Ellie to lead the way. She walked ahead of me with her hands still crossed in front of her chest. I could hear her heart beating loudly, as we got closer to the basement, I knew full moons still made her anxious, but there was nothing I or anyone could do for her.

We opened the first door – a heavy wooden door whose locks I would lace with wolfsbane before leaving – it looked like a normal door from the outside, but it led to a long hallway which was not that well-lit, at the end of the hallway was a heavy iron door – which was already laced with wolfsbane, I opened it and we entered the actual basement. The thick pillars and walls had chains attached to them, it used to be an empty space, but I got the chains for Ellie just before her first transformation. We checked the chains and locks before coming back to the well-lit living room.

"As soon as the moon is gone, I will come back and unlock you" I told Ellie, and she nodded without saying a word. "Don't be scared" I put my hand on her shoulder. "I have never done this alone" Ellie finally spoke, though Gabriel and I don't go near the basement during Ellie's transformation, but she knows we are in the house, this time, no one was going to be around. "I can stay" I told her, I am sure someone else could stay with Lily. "What? Are you crazy?! We aren't ruining the plan!" Ellie gave my shoulder a light punch. "Get ready and then help me" she told me, and I nodded.

I had an hour to spare, the sun would start setting then and I had to help Ellie before taking Lily away. I hated leaving Ellie like that, alone in the basement, with nothing to do but wait for the moon and wait for it to go away and be free. I helped her chain herself to one of the walls, she sat down on the ground. "Don't worry, I will be back soon, you can do this" I told her. "I know" her voice was low and unsure. I got up and locked the iron door, to keep it secure I laced it once more with wolfsbane. I gave Ellie a last glance who smiled before I walked away. I then laced the inside lock and handle of the wooden door with wolfsbane and then locked it as well.

I drove up to Lily's place with my heart beating so loudly I thought it was going to escape my ribcage. I cut the engine and got out of the car. Just as I walked up the front poach steps, the front door opened, and I saw Lily walking out. Her rose gold curls lifted softly as the wind blew in her face. She took long strides towards me and stopped a few inches away. "Are you okay?" she asked me, her eyebrows creased together. Her delicate fingers knotted together, I could hear her heart beating loudly. "Yes" I told her slowly, "How are you up and walking in just a few days? Does it not hurt?" she asked pointing towards my torso where I was stabbed. "It wasn't deep" I told her and before she could say anything Elena appeared in the doorway. "She has been waiting for you" Elena told me, a hint of smile on her face. Lily turned around and I assumed she glared at Elena which made me chuckle, I covered it by coughing. "Are you ready?" I asked Lily. She turned towards me and gave me a single nod.

"Let's go" I told her and then looked at Elena who nodded. I walked down the front poach steps and Lily followed me closely behind. I opened the passenger's door for her and she looked at me, for a brief second her eyes lit up and then she looked away and got inside. I closed the door, and walked around the car and got in the driver's seat. Hitting the gas, I drove out of the driveway with Lily sitting silently beside me.

"I am sorry" she spoke after a long silence. "What for?" I asked her, "You stepped in to save me and got stabbed instead" she told me, looking at me, I looked straight ahead. "I told you it wasn't deep" I replied, "There was a lot of blood, I thought –" she sighed, "I was going to die?" I asked her, she didn't reply. "I am not that easy to kill" I told her, "Let's not talk about dying" Lily looked straight ahead. "Alright" I mumbled, I realised that it was probably one of her worst fear – someone dying in front of her – how bad would it be if she thought that someone had died because of her, isn't that the reason why I took her memories away even though the boy had made a full recovery.

"You know, the last time we were in the car like this, you told me you want to leave even if it is just for a day" I started, "I remember" she mumbled, "Do you still want to leave and be Malia?" I asked her, and her eyes immediately lit up. "Are we going to leave?" she asked me, "Not today" I chuckled. "Yes, I still want to leave" she answered, "Why?" I asked, "I have my reasons" she shrugged, "Which are?" I tried to push just a little bit, "Why does that interest you?" she questioned back, "I – I" I was tongue-tied, I had no idea how to explain to her that I am interested because I am Kaleb without telling her who I am. "I want to figure you out" I said after a pause, "Why?" Lily was a little taken aback, "You answer one question I will answer one question" I made a deal with her. She thought about it for a moment and then agreed, "alright."

"Why do you want to leave?" I asked her, "I hate Mystic Falls and my life as Lily, I want to experience something normal for once, I always wonder what it would be like if I hadn't been born Lilian Salvatore but just _some_ Lilian" I wasn't expecting this answer. "My turn" before I could ask another question, Lily spoke. "Why are you interested in figuring me out?" she asked, "You have attached such mystery to yourself, tell me one person who doesn't want to solve mystery?" I replied, "Why don't you like being Lilian Salvatore?" I asked her, "Look at my life, what is there to enjoy? I am being hunted like an animal, I have made enemies that want to kill me, don't get me wrong, I love my family but what if we were just normal?" she turned towards me slightly. "Don't you think if you had been normal you would have missed out on a lot of things?" I asked her, "Maybe – hey wait! It's my turn!" Lily started answering absentmindedly but then pouted once she realised, "Would you take me away like you promised?" she asked, "Of course" I was honest, once Helen was gone, I would give Lily the life she deserves and craves for. "Now answer my question" I told her, "Maybe but I am sure if it was meant to be, it would be, and if not, maybe I would have saved myself from a lot of trouble" she sighed. "You give me an answer and it raises so many questions" I shook my head, "Well, save it" she told me. "When you take me away will it be with this mask on your face?" she asked me, "I hope not, it will be very inconvenient" I tilted my head to her side. "Go on, I have a burning question too" Lily told me.

"What do you mean by ' _meant to be_ '?" I asked her, "Look I have made supernatural connections with so many people, Olivia, for example, is a witch, I wonder if we would have met at all. Our fathers were vampires, if they had died when they were supposed to, would we be even here? If not, then I would have never met so many other people" Lily replied in a matter-of-fact voice. "I get where you are coming from" one event starts so many events, and if one event doesn't happen, it can change so many things. "If you can take your mask off then, why not now?" Lily asked me. "Hey! You promised you won't ask me to take my mask off again" I reminded her, "I am not asking, it's hypothetical" she shrugged. "Because right now I am on a job" I told her, "and once this gets completed, you won't be doing this anymore?" she asked me, that was two questions, but I let it slide. "No, I won't be" I answered, "How much are my parents paying you?" she asked me, three questions. "Enough" I shrugged, "and that is three questions, so I get to ask three questions in a row as well" I pointed out. "Then let me just ask one more" she smiled, "Alright" I rolled my eyes though she could not see it. "What exactly is your job description?" she asked. "I have only two instructions, I have to kill the Pagans and protect you at any cost" it had been my original order from Klaus, it was the truth. "That is so vague" she mumbled, "It's what it is" I told her. "Last time you told me that it isn't hatred that you feel towards the vampires, it's opposite of that, what does that mean?" I asked her, she sighed and started, "How much do you know about me?" she asked, "Not enough" I would have said it was a lie but lately I feel like I don't know what all she has been hiding. "Do you know I had a boyfriend?" she asked me, and I sat stiffly, "He was a vampire and he – was killed by Helen" Lily's voice was wobbly. "New Orleans was his home, I was supposed to be there with him, but that was taken away from me, every time I saw a vampire there it reminded me of him and it was breaking me apart, I know I am pathetic" she chuckled sadly at the end. "No, it's just the opposite" I told her, "Do you still love him?" I couldn't help but ask and immediately regretted it when I saw tears well up in her eyes as she looked at me. "I don't know how you can stop loving someone" she replied, her voice broke and it broke my heart.

We had reached the lake house but both of us sat in the car, facing each other. "Why do you trust me enough?" I didn't want to confuse her feelings, but I wanted to ask her why she trusted Carter enough to go away with him. "I don't always trust you" she told me, "When don't you trust me?" I asked her in a low voice. "It might sound crazy, I am trying to convince myself that I am not crazy but you seem like two different people sometimes, when you showed me your face, when you came to the hospital, that Carter, I am not as comfortable with, that Carter seems like a stranger to me. The Carter I am babbling to right now, this Carter seems like someone I have known for a long time and my feelings –" she stopped abruptly, "Your feelings?" I encouraged, "It's complicated" even in the dark I could see her face clearly, she was looking at her hands. "Say it" I asked her, almost begged.

"You – this Carter – I cannot understand why I feel safe with you, I have different feelings about you right now and every time I have been with the _other_ Carter, it shouldn't be, because it's _you_ both of those are you, but it is that way" she spoke slowly, "What are your feelings right now?" I asked her, I could hear her heart beating loudly and I did not even need an answer, I already knew. I wanted to tell her that she feels differently with the two Carters because we are indeed two different people. "If I tell you, it will be weird" she confessed, "It won't be" I promised. She bit her lower lip, "Let's get inside" she said after a long pause and turned to get out of the car, but I caught her hand and turned her around. "What do you feel?" I asked her, her hand still in my hand, delicately.

Her breath was caught in her throat. I could hear her heart doing summersaults and I slowly let go of her hand. She immediately opened the car door and got out, shutting the car door behind her she walked up the front poach steps of the lake house. I got out of the car and watched her open the front door. It was dark inside, and she switched on the lights, I followed her inside, shutting the door behind myself. "Do you want something to eat or drink?" she walked to what I assumed was the kitchen. I followed her, she cannot leave me hanging like that. "You didn't answer" I reminded her. She washed her hands and looked for something in the refrigerator. It had nothing else but water, she pulled out a bottle of water and closed the refrigerator. I stood right behind her, as soon as she turned around, she collided with me. Her heart sped up a little as she realised she was stuck between me and the wall behind her. "You didn't answer" I repeated, "I – I know these are my feelings, but I honestly don't know where they are headed" she spoke, biting her lower lip, looking at her feet.

"I know you have told me stay away from you" she spoke, "I don't know what you feel but I cannot seem to stay away but I will always be in love with Kaleb – you remind me of him – I know it is very complicated" she completed. I didn't know I was capable of feeling jealous – I was jealous of my own self – I did not know which self I was jealous of – Carter or Kaleb – or both.

Should I show her my face? After all it is just her and me right now, I can explain her everything and that will sort her feelings out as well. It will be so easy for us both.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **Sorry it took me such a long time to come up with another chapter, the response on the story hasn't been that great and I ran out of motivation to write but I am back and I will be giving updates as soon as possible and I will be completing the story! Stay tuned!**

 _ **-JT**_


	25. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

"Lily" I spoke in a low voice, she did not respond but her eyes were fixed on me. "I need to tell you something" I told her, and her heart sped up almost immediately, "But you must keep this to yourself" I continued after a long pause, "Only till I kill Helen" I completed and waited for her response. She blinked a few times before nodding slowly. So, this was it? This was going to be the moment I show her my face, is this going to be the moment I had been waiting for, for so long.

I could feel anxiety setting in as soon as I touched my hoodie. Am I doing the right thing? Should I wait? My heart was beating as if there is a sledge hammer pounding in my chest. For a minute I was so distracted with the situation we were in that I did not notice that I could no longer hear Lily's heartbeat, I could no longer see as clearly as before, I had my supernatural abilities drained again. Which only meant one thing, I groaned inwardly as my heart dropped to my stomach. My hand automatically behind my back and I pulled my gun from the back of my jeans making Lily jump. "What is it?" she whispered, " _They_ are here" I told her. "What? How do you know?" she looked out of the window. "Stay here, I am going to take care of this" I told her. "No! Are you crazy? You have just been stabbed" she grabbed my hand, "I am going to be fine" I took my free hand and placed it on her hand, as delicately as possible, I moved her hand from mine.

"Stay" I instructed her and very slowly walked to the living room, scanning the room, I heard footsteps on the staircase. Making as less noise as possible, I climbed up the staircase, into the dark. As I was looking around, I felt something heavy hit the back of my head, a sharp pain followed, and my vision blurred as I turned around before blacking out completely.

I opened my eyes almost immediately – or so I thought. The pain at the back of my head was still just as sharp. I blinked a few times and noticed looking at familiar brick walls, I just couldn't put my finger on what this place was just yet. I groaned and turned to my side, touching the back of my head where it hurt, I felt something wet. Pulling my hand back, I saw my hand covered in blood and that brought me back to my senses. I wasn't where I was supposed to be, I was in my house, my basement to be exact. Sitting right outside the wooden door, I did not have my mask on. Where was Lily? I pulled my phone out and dialed her number immediately.

The call went directly to voicemail, I hope she was able to escape. I tried not to panic, I still had a way to track her down. Her pendant would give me her exact location. I rushed upstairs to see if I could find Ellie's car keys to get to where ever Lily was while I opened the app to track Lily's location. Just as I was about to enter Ellie's room, the app opened Lily's location.

I don't think I had experienced true fear before. The blood drained from face and I gasped. My eyes widened, it felt as if everything else had sped up 1000 times, but my own body had slowed down as I rushed down the hallway. No matter how hard I tried to move faster, neither my brain nor my body cooperated. My supernatural abilities hadn't returned yet which meant only one thing, I was still in the presence of Pagans, but it was the least of my concern right now, because what concerned me most was the fact that Lily was right here in this house – inside the basement – with Ellie.

As soon as I reached the wooden door, I put my phone in my pocket and shoved my hand in the other pocket looking for the key to open the door. The cold wash that I had experienced before so many times felt so much worse when I realised that the keys were not in my pocket. I banged on the door as loudly as I could "Lily!" I shouted on the top of my lungs, banging the door again and again. "Lily! Are you in there?" I shouted, waiting for a response.

Taking a few steps back I slammed myself in the door, but it did not even move. A few seconds later, I was responded by the most shrieking scream I had ever heard. "Lily?" I shouted back, "Help me!" I heard her voice. I tried pulling on the lock, but nothing happened, I tried hitting the lock with my feet but it without my supernatural abilities I was useless. The basement was filled with not just Lily but Ellie's screams as well. "Carter you need to leave!" Lily shouted through her tears, her voice echoed back to me. "Lily, I am going to get you out" I shouted back, hitting on the door. "Leave! There is a werewolf in here" she shouted back as I kept hitting the door. "She is turning!" Lily shouted back.

I tried to look for my anything that would help me break the door. I was shaking as I looked around for something, anything! "She is chained right?" I asked Lily, "She is almost free" Lily replied back, "That is why I am saying, just leave!" she completed. I kept beating on the door, slowly my energy started to drain as I sank to the ground.

I couldn't even protect Lily, all I could do was sit on the other side of this door and hear her cry in fear. Watching a werewolf turn must be scary enough for her, but being in the same place with one, I couldn't even imagine the terror. I hit my head repeatedly on the door as I stand down with my back towards it. I don't remember when was the last time tears streamed down my face like right now. As soon as the moon is completely out, and Ellie turns with Lily in the same room – the thought made me experience a feeling I had never before. Was I going to lose Lily forever?

"Lily!" I gathered all my courage, "Why are you still here? I am begging you to please leave" she shouted back. "I have to tell you something" I told her. "Just leave!" she cried, "I am not leaving you" I told her. "You will die!" she shouted back, if Ellie turns with Lily in there and – if I cannot get her out before that then I would willing kill myself too. "I won't leave you alone" I told her calmly, "Go please!" Lily begged, "You don't listen to me" I told her. I just wanted to tell her who I am before – but she wouldn't stop crying.

I got up to my feet and tried slamming against the door, before my body gave up and I sank to the ground. I would give up anything and everything just to bring Lily out here safely.

Why couldn't I protect her? Why did I have to fail her in this way? I would die all over again, but I cannot watch her die. If she dies, I don't know what I would do. But what could I do right now? I heard Ellie yelp in pain and I knew it was close. I closed my eyes slowly, fighting back my tears.

I didn't know if it was because I wanted it to happen or if it happened for real. I felt a surge of energy in my body, as if my supernatural abilities had returned. Without wasting a second, I got up and with a single kick to the door, the door swung open and broke from it's hinges. The loud thud made Lily scream.

I grasped the situation a lot quicker than either of them and using my supernatural abilities, I was right outside the iron door in a matter of few seconds. Ellie's one hand was free from the chain, broken in the most bizarre form. Lily was tied to a pillar facing Ellie, just a foot away from her. It was as if Lily had seen a ghost, the blood drained from her face. I broke off the chain from the iron door in one swift motion and opened the door.

I quickly broke off the chains with which Lily was tied. Her eyes were opened wide, her mouth hung open. She was covered in sweat and tears; she froze in her place. "Use those chains and get out" Ellie shouted, "Should I chain you?" I asked her, "Yes" Ellie spoke from between her teeth. Very carefully, I moved around Lily and proceeded to chain Ellie's freed hand back, she was very cooperative. She looked at me and her eyes turned, "Get out, now!" even her voice changed as she breathed through her mouth.

I walked back to Lily and tucked one hand under her knees and the other hand around her shoulders. Lifting her effortlessly, I rushed out of the iron door. I made Lily stand up, giving her a quick glance as I tried to quickly shut the iron door. Lily was still shocked, and it was understandable but right now I needed her to be quick, if the Pagans have left then it is all okay, but if they are coming back, she needs to be ready.

"Let's go" I told her, taking her hand in mine, I picked her up again, effortlessly and rushed out of the basement.

As soon as we were in the living room, I could hear two more beating hearts other than Lily and Ellie's. "Are you okay?" I asked putting her down on the couch, she was shaking terribly. Her eyes fixed on the ground, she did not respond. I wondered what had shocked her more, being stuck in there with Ellie or seeing me? "Lily" I cupped her cheek with my right hand, and her eyes met mine, I saw horror in her eyes. "I will be right back, okay?" I told her, and she gave me a single nod, still shaking violently. "Do not follow me, no matter what you hear" I warned her and she gave me a single nod again.

I slowly followed the heartbeats, scouting the Pagans in my house. Now I was sure, the plan had been successful. The altar had been destroyed, we were free now and they were still stuck with being humans in our presence. "Let's end this, you know you are no match for me" I said in a low voice, smirking. "I can hear your heartbeats" I informed them as I walked in their direction. "If I find you, I will end you violently, if you come out yourself – I will reconsider" I said.

I paused for a few seconds when I heard footsteps shuffling. Two men emerged from the end of the hallway. I superspeed towards them, holding them both by their necks at an arm's distance. "Now, which one of you tied my girl with the werewolf?" I asked with a smile. A blond man immediately responded, "And what did you do?" I asked with a straight face, "I didn't do anything, I just watched" he defended himself. "You just _watched_?" I asked, and he nodded.

I let go of his neck, nodding slowly. He gasped and looked at his friend, and then at me with his eyes widened. "Thank you" he whispered as he tried moving past me. "Where do you think you are going?" I asked him letting go of the other man as well. The blond man looked confused but kept mum. I kicked his fibula bone, a loud _cracking_ noise followed, and his bone split in two horizontally, he let out a wail and fell on the ground. I immediately covered his mouth, "Shh… you might scare my girl again" I told him softly.

"You _just_ watched, so you are going to watch" I told him with a smile. I held the other man's face with both my hand and placed his head in the blond man's lap, "Watch this" I told him before I placed my thumb on the other man's eyes. "No, please!" the other man begged, and I stuck my thumb in his sockets and heard him scream in pain, blood poured out of his eyes the blond man also let out a shirking scream before I straightened up.

I took the other man's hand in my hand, "You tied her up with these hands?" I asked him and bent his hands backwards from his wrists. Dropping his hands on the blond man's lap, who screamed and tried to back off. "This is for scaring her" I spoke from between my teeth and stepped on his feet, crushing the bones to dust.

"Kaleb!" I heard Lily's voice from behind me. I turned around and saw the horror on her face intensified. "I told you not to follow me" I told her, blocking her view. "Just kill them" she begged, her eyes had teared up. Without a second thought, I snapped their necks one by one and watched their body go lifeless.

After disposing off the bodies, washing myself thoroughly, calling Gabriel to check on everyone, I found that the altar had been destroyed, everyone was safe and though Helen did not die, they had killed more than half of the Pagans, the only bad thing was that the ones who had survived had gone underground. I asked Gabriel to come home quickly to check on Ellie since I was going to be with Lily.

I had left her in my bedroom when I went to talk to Gabriel in the living room. I could hear her crying on the other end of the door. I opened the door slowly, making Lily jump. She wiped her tears and looked at her hands in her lap. I looked at the floor as I entered the room, shutting the door behind me. "Are you cold?" I asked her when I noticed she was shaking still. "A little" she mumbled. I walked to my wardrobe quickly and pulled out the first jacket I could find.

Taking it to Lily, I put the jacket around her shoulders without even noticing how close our faces were until she looked up and our eyes locked. I heard her heart skip a beat and her face reddened a little but neither of us looked away. I rested my hands on her shoulder and then my hands slowly travelled down her arms and rested in her palms on her lap as I sat down on the floor, at her eye level.

She bit her lower lip but did not say anything. "Are you mad at me?" I asked her, "No" she said in a low voice. "Are you shocked?" I asked, "Yes" she responded and finally broke the eye contact to look down at our hands in her lap. I took her hands in mine and spoke, "I am sorry, I couldn't tell you it was me, because of Helen" I told her. A tear fell from her eyes on my hand. Taking both her hands in my right hand, I wiped her tears from my left hand and scooted closer to her. "I am so sorry" I repeated, cupping her cheek with my left hand. "Don't be, I get it" she told me in a low voice, "Were you scared that you were with a werewolf?" I asked her, trying to find a gaze.

"I was scared that you would die" she told me looking right in my eyes and for a minute it felt as if time had stopped. All I could hear was her heart beating like a machine gun. "Why didn't you leave?" she asked me, "Where would I go without you?" I questioned back. "She could have killed you" Lily said in a matter-of-fact voice. "If you had died, I would have walked in there as soon as I could, or killed myself in some other way" I told her. "Why don't you value your life?" tears were streaming down her face as she spoke. "I am going to spend my life with you, without you, I don't care about my life" I told her.

"You need to find a purpose in your life" she told me, "I do have a purpose in my life" I told her. "Which is?" she asked, "To love you, unconditionally and forever" I spoke after a pause. She freed her hands from my gasp and wrapped her arms around my neck, I gasped at the sudden touch, but a smile appeared on my face.

I made her stand up and stood up from the floor myself and without wasting another second, I pulled her closer to me by her waist and wrapped my arms around her, resting my face in the crook of her neck. Her body collided with mine when she wrapped her arms around my torso.

Her arms were still wrapped around my torso and my arms rested on her shoulder when I looked into her eyes. Slowly, I moved my face closer to hers and watched her close her eyes, her heart had still not slowed down. Gently, I placed a kiss on her forehead and watched a smile appear on her face before I wrapped my arms around her again and pulled her closer to myself.

After what felt like a few minutes but what would have actually been more than an hour, I heard a car pull up outside. "Will you stay here?" I asked Lily, "Where are you going?" she asked me, her brows creased together. "I have to go check on Ellie" I told her, "The werewolf?" she lifted her brows. "She's a friend" I told her, "Okay" Lily mumbled. "Don't go too close" she told me. "I know, I will be careful" I creased her face before finally letting her go and walking out of the bedroom. I craved her touch and warmth almost instantly and fought the urge to go back inside.

Apparently, Gabriel had already made his way inside and possibly to the basement. I noticed the moon was already setting, which meant Ellie's transformation must have been completed. I rushed down to the basement and as expected Gabriel was already there. He had covered Ellie with a blanket and her head was in his lap as he stroked her hair, comforting her. All they ever did was fight but looking at them now made me wonder when did they grew this close and comfortable with each other? I couldn't help but smile as I watched Gabriel pick Ellie up in his arms.

I decided to go back to my bedroom as silently as possible, since Gabriel had got this, and I was not needed besides me staying would make it awkward for them.

When I returned I saw that Lily had already fallen asleep on my bed, though her legs hung from the bed, and her neck rested uncomfortably on the headboard of the bed. I smiled watching her sleep as I moved closer to her, I could feel that everything bad was going to end very soon. It had to, I was going to make Lily the happiest person. I would do anything to make her smile and to keep that smile that I loved so much on her face. I would do everything to keep tears away from her eyes. I would love her till my last day on this earth, and even after that and I would never leave her alone.

* * *

 **A/N: Hey Readers,**

 **Please look forward to new twists and leave your reviews.**

 **Thank you!**

 _ **-JT**_


	26. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Lily's P.O.V.

I opened my eyes slowly and found myself in my own bed, facing the door of my room. How did I get here? The lights were turned off, the room was dark. I couldn't help but yawn as I turned around to pick up my phone and check what time it was. From the corner of my eyes I saw a figure standing at the farthest end of the room, and I jumped back. I immediately turned the lights on and my eyes grew wider.

It was Helen, how did she get in here? My hand instinctively reached for the pistol under my pillow. "Don't bother" she spoke in a low voice, "I am not even real" she continued. Was I hallucinating? My heart was racing like crazy, what is all this? "This is just my illusion" she continued, "I am not stupid enough to come to your house after all" her lips broke into a smile and she moved towards me. I backed up against the headboard of my bed as she sat down on the foot of my bed.

"I am just here to warn you" she said, "Warn me?" I finally found my voice. "The moment the sun comes up, life as you know it is going to change, the next 24 hours are going to be one hell of a ride for you and once it ends, I would have taken someone away from you – someone you love" she raised her right eyebrow. Kaleb? No, she cannot kill him especially now that they are powerless. "That's right, Kaleb and you will have to watch it all" it was as if she can read my mind. "After that, I am going to kill your parents, your friends and then when you beg me to kill you, I will grant you your wish" she told me. "You can't touch anyone" I spoke from between my teeth, ignoring the lump forming at the back of my throat. "Brace yourself" she smile and looked me in the eyes.

I opened my eyes and found myself in my room. I immediately sat up, the sun was already up. Had I been sleeping this whole while? Was I dreaming? That was such a weird dream, but it didn't feel like a dream at all. It felt so real, so vivid. My brain tried to reason with me; that must be what people call false awakening. I must be thinking that I am awake, but I must really be just dreaming, right?

I still had this weird feeling, but I shook it off, if I paid too much attention to the dream then I would not be able to function for the rest of the day. I picked up my phone and looked at the time, it was 8:05 a.m. Should I, just for the sake of my sanity, set a timer for 24 hours? I will spend the rest of the 24 hours with Kaleb, and once that passes, I will be sure that this is a dream. I decided to set a timer for 24 hours and get dressed to meet Kaleb.

I still couldn't believe that it was him. I have so much questions to ask, so much to say to him, so much to tell him. I was getting anxious just by thinking about it and that slowed me down like nothing else. I was barely functioning at all. What if it was a dream as well? No, Kaleb is _really_ back, it cannot be a dream, I am sure of it. Does this mean, that I have actually spent all this time with Kaleb without even knowing? He has to give me so many answers.

I rushed downstairs and saw mom and dad in the kitchen, cooking. "Good morning sunshine" dad greeted me with a smile. "Good morning dad" I replied, this was weird. I don't remember the last time dad and mom greeted me with such a big smile. "I have to run" I pointed towards the door, "Let's have breakfast first" mom instructed me as she came around the kitchen counter. "I really need to go" I told her. "You aren't leaving without eating, why are you so anxious?" she asked me, her brows creased together. If I tell them about my dream, they will get worked up. "No reason" I mumbled and walked to the kitchen counter to get whatever dad had cooked.

It was pancakes. It has been such a long time since dad had cooked pancakes for me. Why were they suddenly cooking pancakes? They don't seem even slightly worried that I am leaving after breakfast, alone. All this seemed so – _normal_. "What is going on?" mom asked me as I kept shoving my breakfast down my throat. "Nothing" I spoke before taking another bite. "I really have to go now" I said taking my last bite and taking the dishes to the sink. "When will you be back?" mom asked, "I won't be long" I told her as I rushed to the front door, picking up my car keys. "Love you" mom said, and I stopped dead in my tracks. Ever since I have left for college, this is one thing that mom, dad and I stopped saying to one another. I turned around and watched mom and dad smiling at me. Were they trying to be normal? "Love – you – too" I mumbled, confused. Why were they trying to be normal?

I blinked a few times and walked out of the door. I will figure this mystery out once I get back after meeting Kaleb. I backed out of the driveway and rushed down the road. Everything seemed so normal in Mystic Falls, just like any other day and yet it gave me such an eerie feeling. Maybe I am just thinking way too much. I am for sure thinking too much, I know once I see Kaleb everything will be alright.

I parked my car in his driveway and got out of the car. As I was locking my car, I saw Kaleb walking out of the huge iron doors of his house. A sense of relief washed over me but apparently, Kaleb hadn't noticed me. I quickly walked up to him. "Kaleb?" I called out just as he was about to cross the road. He turned around slowly, "Yes?" he asked. Yes? For a moment I was tongue-tied, what was this? "Uh – Hi" I stopped a few inches away from him. I honestly expected a warmer greeting from him. My heart sank to my stomach when he still did not hold me in his arms like last night. Did I do something to piss him off? But he wouldn't be this cold to me, that wasn't his personality. "I am sorry" he started, and a smile grew on my face, maybe now he will do something expected. "Do I – know you?" he asked, leaving me puzzled.

Is this some elaborate prank he is pulling on me? "Very funny" I remarked sarcastically but he still did not seem to drop the act. "Why are you doing this? I don't like this prank" I complained. "Uh – I think you have the wrong person" Kaleb smiled and started walking away from me, I caught his hand and he looked at our hands with his brows creased together and then at me. Before I could say anything further, he slowly freed his hand from my gasp. "I don't know who you are, but I have to be somewhere urgently" his words pierced though my heart, leaving me dumbfounded he started walking away from me.

It all happened so fast that I could not process what was going on let alone act on it in some way. Just as Kaleb was about to reach the other side of the road, I saw a car pulling up from the corner of the road. "Watch out!" I shouted as my feet pushed off the ground, Kaleb looked at me and then towards the car but before he could react – which he should have been able to, given that he was a vampire – the car rammed against him and I watched as he hit the windshield and then hit the ground. The car did not stop and rushed around the other corner.

I fell down beside Kaleb, who was already covered in blood. His eyes seemed to be out of focus. Tears welled up in my eyes, my body was shaking violently. ' _Be reasonable_ ' I told myself, ' _He is a vampire_ ' I reminded myself, he will heal in a matter of minutes if not seconds. "You will be alright" I told him as I took his hands in mine and then I saw it – he wasn't wearing his daylight ring. I frantically looked around for it, did it fell somewhere? And then I realised, the sun was shining brightly, if he had lost his daylight ring _after_ getting run over, he should be burning right now but he wasn't, and neither was he healing.

Before panic could set in my body, I watch him gasp and his eyes closed.

I opened my eyes and immediately sat up, my breathing ragged. What in the world did just happen? Have I been having false awakening all this time? I pinched myself and it sting. I was definitely up now. I don't know why I would have these nightmares, but I did not want to experience that again.

I pick up my phone to see what time it is. The phone slips out of my hand when I see it is 8:05 a.m. but there is a timer set on the phone and it is showing 22 hours 45 minutes left. It cannot be possible, did I put a timer while I was asleep? I got out of my bed and rushed to get ready, I need to find Kaleb.

"Good morning Sunshine" dad greeted me in the same way, cooking with mom. I gasped, this couldn't be – it shouldn't be possible. How am I reliving the whole thing again? "What's wrong?" mom asked, "Mom – I have to leave" I mumbled and started backing away. "Let's have breakfast first" mom said, again walking around the kitchen counter. I looked at what they were making – pancakes. I have never had the feeling of déjà vu, but was this it? I did not like this feeling.

I turned around and rushed out of the front door. "Lily!" Mom and dad called after me. I got in my car and sped down the road as fast as I could go. I was taking a turn near the town's square towards Kaleb's house when I spotted him in the town square and immediately felt a sense of relief wash over me. I sighed as I parked my car and quickly got out.

As I was crossing the road, it happened again. I could not move quick enough but at the same time everything happened in a slow motion, I saw everything clearly. A man walked up behind Kaleb and stabbed him in broad daylight. "No!" I shouted, as I ran across the street towards Kaleb. There was a chaos in the town's square as people rushed towards him. "Kaleb!" I shouted, I sank on the ground next to him. He wasn't wearing his daylight ring again.

As soon as his eyes closed, my eyes opened, and I was in my room again. I quickly picked up my phone – same date – 8:05 a.m. 22 hours 03 minutes left. I got out of the bed. I paced around the room, am I stuck in a time loop? Do I have to watch Kaleb die over and over again? This can't be it. Why is this happening? Just as I was walking, I hit my pinkie toe at the corner of my bed and I doubled over in pain. "Ouch!" I gasped and held my pinkie toe, I could see the blood clotting in my nail. ' _Shake it off! You need to find Kaleb_ ' I told myself and straightened up. Biting my lower lip, I went to get ready, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in my toe.

This time I found Kaleb walking towards the woods, and I couldn't get out of the car fast enough to stop. I was only able to reach him the second before he took his foot off a coyote trap.

I woke up with a start, unable to get the bloody scene out of my mind. I think I am going to be traumatised after this whole ordeal. I realised that I still had pain in my toe. I looked at it and saw the blood clot in my nail. "This means, that if I die, maybe I won't come back to life again like Kaleb; is it just me who won't reanimate to life? Or is it just Kaleb who reanimates to life?" I spoke to myself.

Before leaving the house today, I _accidentally_ pricked mom's finger. If Kaleb dies again, and I wake up again, I will see if it is only Kaleb whose injuries disappear.

His deaths has been so random and bizarre, I did not want to go find him again. I did not want to witness him dying all over again. Maybe if I am fast enough, if I just save him once, the loop will break but the problem is. He isn't a vampire in this whole loop, he doesn't remember me. How do I draw his attention towards me?

I had almost missed him again with my brain engaged in the train of thoughts. I saw him standing at the top of the bell tower, looking down. Was he going to be pushed? Why in the world would he be there? I parked my car in the first spot I could find and jumped out of the car. My heart was racing frantically as I ran up the stairs and busted open the door only to find Kaleb standing there alone.

"Kaleb!" I shouted, and he turned around, puzzled. Was he going to slip from there? My heart was in my mouth the whole while. "Please step back" I pleaded, maybe this time I can save him. I took a step towards him. "Don't come any closer" his voice wobbly. "What are you doing?" I stopped dead in my tracks, my brows creased together. "Who are you?" he asked, "It doesn't matter who am I, just step back" I pleaded. What if he doesn't remember who am I after I break the loop this time? He took a step back, towards the edge of the bell tower. "No!" I shouted, stepping forward, my heart leaped almost out of my chest. "Why are you doing this?" I asked him, "Why does it matter to you?" his voice was still wobbly. "I just – I don't know what is going on but please don't do this" no matter what I say to him, it didn't seem to get to him. "I have failed in everything" was the last thing he said before he stepped off the bell tower. "No!" I shouted, and froze in my place, my eyes widened at first as I watched him disappear from my view and I heard a loud thud, probably his body hitting the car. I shut my eyes close, tears welling up my eyes as my heart sank to my stomach.

When I opened my eyes again, I was still standing on the roof of the bell tower. Did he not die? Have we broken the loop? I rushed to the end of the bell tower and looked down and I saw his bloodied body, lying lifeless on a car.

I opened my eyes again in my room and for a minute I couldn't move. Tears streamed down my face as I looked at my phone again 21 hours 21 minutes, 8:05 a.m. again. My body was numb and so was my brain as I tried to erase the memories of Kaleb's lifeless body from my mind, but it kept taking me back to the day he died for real, it had been so long ago, but it was fresh in my mind.

There has to be a loop hole in this. There always is a loop hole, isn't it? I just need to figure it out. What if I don't step out of my room? I can do that. I can tell mom I am sick and just stay in my room. And that is what I did, I successfully spent 3 hours in my room without waking up again until I looked outside my window.

At first, I was unable to recognize who it was from the back but as soon as he turned around to face towards my house, I heard a loud gunshot before he fell on the ground.

I did not even have the time to react or feel something and I woke up again. I counted up to 66 deaths that I witnessed in the span of 16 hours. All of which were bizarre; I understood a few things, it did not matter where I was, Kaleb and I always found each other and as soon as he was in my vision, he would die, I wouldn't even get enough time to warn him or reach out to him. It did not matter if he hadn't seen me, I had to not look at him, but I somehow always ended up looking at him, resulting in his death and I had to see his lifeless body to wake up again. And finally, I was the only one that sustained any injuries.

As soon as I woke up, I rushed to close the curtains of my room without looking out of the window. I have to think of a plan, and I had to think quickly and then something obvious hit me. "Mom!" I shouted, after a few seconds she appeared in my doorway. "Do we have evergreen wood?" I asked her.

Dad, mom and I were sitting in my room. "What is this about?" they asked me, "I know this is about to sound crazy, but I think I have lived this day before – I am certain I have, I have witnessed someone die over 60 times, it always happens, and I always wake up and I know why this is happening" I said, they exchanged glances. "Why?" dad asked, "Helen" I replied in a matter-of-fact voice. "Helen?" dad asked, and I nodded. "Who?" mom asked glancing at dad. _Who?!_ I opened my mouth and closed it again, just how much have things changed. I covered my mouth with my hand, elbow resting on my lap, my brows creased together.

"You do know about – supernatural beings, right?" I had to ask, "Of course" dad replied, puzzled just as mom. I let out a sigh of relief before I proceeded to explain the whole situation to mom and dad. "So, you are asking us for evergreen wood to kill this Helen?" mom asked, "Yes" I replied. "No" mom shook her head, "I have to break the loop mom!" I threw my hand in the air.

"How are we even going to find this Helen?" dad asked, "Aunt Bonnie" I shrugged. "Damon, she isn't going anywhere" mom interrupted. "Elena, Kaleb could die again and we won't remember any of this, and this cycle would just keep happening and you know your daughter just as well as I do, she wouldn't ask for our help again if we don't help her now" dad turned towards mom, "Thanks dad" I didn't know if I should be offended a little that they thought I would hide things from them but well, it was the truth.

"Is it possible to find someone you don't even remember?" I asked Aunt Bonnie. "If I have found her before, I am sure I can find her again, besides there is a life at stake" she comforted me. Everyone agreed that killing Helen was our best shot and that everyone was going to help me. Starting with Dad and Uncle Enzo keeping Kaleb away from me, even if it meant resorting to kidnapping.


End file.
